Home By Dark
by Sadie Lovegood
Summary: SEMI AU. The Breakfast Club is dragged on an out of town field trip, then accidentally left behind, 60 miles from Shermer, with no money, no transportation, not to mention hidden feelings for each other. What could POSSIBLY go wrong? Everything!
1. Abandoned?

"**Home By Dark"**

_**A/N: **Another fic from me. Enjoy, and lotsa reviews please? _

_**General Summary: **This is what I call a "SEMI-AU" The detention DID happen and everyone in TBC knows each other…but The romantic pairings that occurred in the movie did NOT happen, to give it a little twister! The Fab 5 are dragged on a field trip out of town, then accidentally left behind as the bus departs for home! How can they travel the 60 miles to home with their limited funds, no connections, and bizarre minds? All while four of the five strive to tell each other how they feel? _

**Rating: T for swearing and possible violence…although compared to my others this one will be a bit more light-hearted and humor-ish!

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"That one looks like a clown with a hernia…"

It was Friday, May 19th, 1984. The seniors of Shermer High School were dragged for the day to an art gallery isolated somewhere 60 miles southwest of the high school, then let loose in the museum for the day to do a report for classes. Not exactly a fun day, but the five members of the newly formed Breakfast Club were finding ways to manage. Bender, for instance, was taking it upon himself to give genuine artistic commentary as they cruised through the abstract wing of the museum. Andy, Claire, and Brian were trying to drown it out. Allison was trying not to laugh.

"This one looks more like a chipmunk getting high," Bender said about the next one. Andy was getting pretty fed up about this. He was being distracted from getting his report done. Bender was getting annoying quickly.

"Common, Bender, some of us don't wanna fail this!" Andy snapped.

"Quit whining, I'm just appreciating the art we see before us!" Bender said back.

"Seeing porno in a Rembrandt isn't appreciating anything!" snapped Andy. Andy felt a hand on his shoulder. He whipped his head around to see Allison giving him a look that read 'please keep the peace, we were doing so well!' Andy smiled tenderly at her and nodded, crossing to the other side of the room. Andy continued studying Allison from the other side of the wing.

Andy studied the subtle rocking of her hips back and forth as she studied a Munsch-like piece and the way she flicked her hair over her shoulder casually. Andy bit his lip. Ever since they met during detention, Andy felt himself going soft around her. That day, once they'd gotten over their differences, he'd seen her for her humor and passionate heart, as well as her beauty (which he knew was behind that bush of hair somewhere). But he'd never gotten the chance to tell her how he felt. When the detention ended, his father immediately whisked him away for a training session at the weight gym to make up for the day of sitting around. Allison had been left standing the exhaust trail of his dad's Bronco as he was driven away. Andy kinda lost his nerve since then. He knew he needed the perfect moment to tell her, but it just hadn't come up yet.

"This one looks like an elephant crossdresser doing a pole dance at Pee Wee's Playhouse," said Bender, pointing to a third abstract creation. Claire groaned beside him. Claire wanted to kick herself for her secret feeling towards John Bender. He was everything she hated in a person. He was an obnoxious, self-absorbed egomaniac! But he was also honest and protective, and VERY rugged and handsome. During the detention, she'd decided to let him out of his 'solitary confinement' in Vernon's closet. She had wanted so much to kiss him, and almost looked like he was expecting her to, but she turned away and smirked at him playfully. She'd missed her chance to be with the one she secretly admired for nearly two months. Until she got some balls, Claire decided to keep the teaser relationship going.

"John, must you really say those things out loud? It's repulsive!" Claire responded.

"Imagine what Hashimoto said when he called me in to do ink blots! He didn't have that heart attack reading Playboy, let me tell you!" Bender said back, chuckling at Claire's naïve nature. He didn't know what the hell he saw in Her Royal Highness Princess Royal Claire Standish, but she was wise and passive, VERY nuturing. Bender couldn't believe he was falling for someone so Cherry-minded. Maybe it was just him being sober.

"John, have you even started your report?" asked Brian, holding a 70-page spiral notebook (34 of which were now filled with art noted and essay ideas).

"Yeah, I finished it off in the bathroom on the way here!" Bender replied. Allison squeaked in laughter.

She noticed Andy smirking. She knew he was trying to hide his amusement. Andy always tried to be mature and adult-like. She knew Andy had a goofy teenager inside waiting to get out. She wanted to be the one to get it out of him, but she never got the chance. Andy was so wonderful. He'd probably have nothing to do with a lowly maverick like herself. Not many people DID want something to do with her…or so she thought. Detention one Saturday had shown her otherwise.

"Who considers this artwork anyway? It's more like fartwork!" Bender said, scoffing the pieces. "I could make better paintings on speed!"

"John, this is art because the people who created them put their feelings into every ounce of paint on that canvas. Some of these 'ink blots' took years to make!" Allison intervened. Andy smiled.

"Who cares? I just came today to get the free lunch," said Bender, sticking his pencil behind his ear. Everyone rolled their eyes.

"Wasn't lunch…like, four hours ago?" asked Claire. Brian looked at his watch.

"Oh no! It's 4:30!" Brian said. "The bus was supposed to leave at 4:15!"

"Come on, maybe they're late!" Andy said, bidding everyone to hurry up and dash out to the bus. Why were there so many freaking rooms and hallways? It was like navigating through a garden maze! The five weaved in and out of the hallways and galleries and found the main lobby and the front door. Once outside, it was clear as day the bus wasn't there. Bender, the fastest runner in the group, made a dash down the driveway and disappeared down the road to see how far the bus went. The remaining for only walked down the driveway. By the time they made their way out onto the road, Bender met them again. He pointed and panted.

"Couldn't see the bus. They're a good five to six miles away by now!" he said.

Brian gulped. "Let's go inside and call our parents," he suggested. Andy walked back up to the museum. He yanked on the door. Bender shook his head.

"No…fucking…way…" he muttered. Andy came back slowly.

"The museum closes at 4:30 and the doors automatically lock," Andy said. Bender, grunting, ran full-speed up to the door, fists flying at the glass. As the fist hit the glass, Bender flew back with a yell and a thud. The glass was unbroken, but Bender's fist was beet red. Bender, nursing his hand, kicked the door in a rage before going to rejoin the others. Brian bit his lip in nervousness. Allison's foot began shaking, and Andy twiddled his thumbs. This scenario wasn't looking too good.

"Stranded," Claire muttered.

"Anyone know any nearby places?" asked Allison.

"No. I'm not familiar with this area," said Claire, observing the surroundings. Outside of the museum, the entire land was field and trees. It was all country.

"Who the hell puts an art gallery in the middle of a farmland?" Andy swore under his breath.

"Any cash?" asked Brian. Everyone looked at Claire. Claire shook her head.

Bender interrupted, "I think I have three tens…" Bender sifted through his pocket and pulled out a few bills. "That and a few ones," he confirmed.

"I think we're royally fucked over," Andy said. Allison squeaked in fear.

"No, they'll realize we're missing and turn the bus around, no doubt," analyzed Brian. Claire nodded.

"I think we could wait for them for a little while," she said. "It's better than walking the 60 some-odd miles back to town in the dark."

"They won't abandon us on the stoop of a randomly-placed art gallery. We'll be fine," Andy assured everyone, sitting down on the curb. Allison sat next to him, Bender next to her, Claire next to him, and Brian on the other end. They waited in silence a moment.

"It's all we can do," muttered Allison, who then began to bite her nails.

"What'll we do until then?" asked Brian, scratching his nose.

Bender searched in his pocket and extracted a pack of cards. "Anyone for a game of seven-card stud?" Everyone nodded. Bender began dealing out the cards. Brian frowned.

"May I deal?" he asked.

"It isn't called 'seven-card **cherry**'!" Bender said, smirking. Claire groaned and playfully punched his side. Allison laughed and picked up her cards.

She had her doubts at first, but maybe now things would turn out all right…


	2. Under The Streetlamp

"Two pair, aces over deuces," said Allison, laying down her hand. Bender slammed down his hands, frustrated.

"Damn! You sure you're a beginner?" asked Bender. Allison smiled, and winked.

"My neighbor used to be a casino dealer out west and he taught me all I need to know!" Allison said. Bender shook his head and smirked in surrender. Claire was nearly asleep, leaning against a lamppost. Brian was toying with his new pocket calculator. Andy was staring into space, wondering why the hell the bus hadn't come to pick them up yet. The sun was nearly completely set. The only light the Breakfast Club had to see by was the light of a nearly full moon and a flickering street lamp.

"Brian, what time is it now?" asked Andy.

Brian peeked at his watch, and looked like the time shocked him. "7:30!"

Allison's mouth hung open so wide that Andy could see the all of the fillings on her back teeth. Brian's words made Claire, who was three seconds away from Dreamland, sit straight up, fully alert.

"The bus isn't coming back…is it?" asked Claire. Allison looked at her feet.

"I don't think so, Claire," she said, shivering and pulling her black cardigan tighter around her. "I don't like this," she said.

Bender put his cards back in the box and shoved the box in his pocket. "We could start walking now…" he suggested. "I ain't an old lady, we can make 60 miles," he suggested.

Brian immediately shook his head. "60 miles? John, you MUST be crazy!"

"Oh? How so, wisenheimer?" snapped Bender, looking defensive.

"The average person can walk a mile in 20 minutes!"

"SO?"

Brian began shaking. "If you do the math, that's three miles in an hour. Sixty divided by three is twenty. It would TWENTY HOURS to get back to Shermer…if we keep up a three mile-and-hour pace nonstop the entire way. Physically for people our age that would be nearly impossible…"

"NEARLY impossible?" asked Bender doubtfully. Brian sighed and continued.

"Olympic runners go for warm-up jogs at two and a half miles an hour. Five young people walking constantly for twenty hours at 3 miles an hour would drain us clear of any energy…especially without food, water, and sleep." Brian paused, looking at the reactions on peoples' faces. "I guarantee that no matter how tough we all say to be, walking 60 miles back to Shermer is out of the question. We don't have a map, we have no idea which roads to take, or where we can get food or shelter, nor do we know anyone in the area."

"For all we know, everyone we meet could be bums and assholes," said Andy, understanding. Brian looked at Andy and nodded.

"We could wait here until morning," suggested Claire. "When the museum reopens, we could—"

"—tomorrow's Saturday, and Monday's Memorial Day," reminded Andy.

"I'm NOT sitting in front of a goddamn museum in the middle of the Illinois Desert for three days waiting for a man with a key!" Bender said aggressively. "It's walking or rotting out here."

"We could hitchhike," suggested Allison with a mischievous smirk. Andy gave her a look of surprised amusement. Brian looked horrified at the thought.

"We've been sitting on the side of the road for three and a half hours and not a single car's come by," said Claire. "THAT'S not gonna work even if it WAS safe!"

"I think we have no choice," said Andy. "We can't teleport ourselves back into our houses, so I think we should get going tomorrow morning at daybreak," he suggested.

"Where will we sleep tonight?" asked Allison. Everyone looked around. Bender spoke first.

"We'll sleep in the shadows over there," he pointed. "We'll be out of sight just in case any creeps come along, and it's an easy place to get up and bolt if we have to."

Everyone looked at each other. Claire nodded. "Fine."

Everyone else seemed to agree after that, and they made their way over to the shadowy area. It was smelly and dark on the ground. The grass was dry and sharp. Bugs crawled on the ground. Brian sat down and curled into a sitting fetal position, looking up at the starry night forming above him. He was the only one to settle down. The other four bickered.

"I'm not sleeping here," said Andy. "It'll be bad for my back, the ground's too solid. I have a regional meet next weekend," he whined.

"Andy, it'll work for tonight," Claire insisted. Bender gestured to Claire.

"See? If Princess in Pink isn't afraid to sleep on the ground, then who's the real girl here, Sporto?" Bender challenged. "Are you afraid you'll get a boo-boo without your daddy nearby?" he said in a baby-ish taunting voice. Andy got red. Allison groaned loudly and sat down at Claire's feet, Claire sitting down next to her.

"Shut up, Bender! You're the reason we're in this mess!"

Bender looked around innocently. "Me?"

"Yeah! If you weren't screwing around in the museum, we wouldn't have lost track of the time, and we would've caught the bus home, and therefore we wouldn't be sleeping on the ground with thirty bucks and a graphing calculator to live off of!" he yelled.

"If you weren't trying to show me up and make me look like a jackass all day, I might have stopped screwing around!" said Bender. Andy grew even redder.

"I'm not sleeping here! If any of you jerks give a damn, I'll be off find a…a more cushioned tuft of grass!" Andy turned and walked away. No one followed him. Bender sat down next to Claire.

"It's asses like him who made me turn to the dark side," Bender remarked.

"It's not like you were much better!" Claire shit back. Wow…he was sexy when his nostrils flared like that!

"I just don't know what the hell we think we're doing about tomorrow. I've been in fucked up situations, but nothing's been this bad. I think we should head east on the main road tomorrow. On the bus there were at least three little pit stop towns on the way out here. We're bound to hit one on the road tomorrow," Bender suggested.

"I think we can make it in 3 days if we sleep at night. But I know my parents are probably giving hell already," Claire said.

"The first thing we buy tomorrow when we hit a place is a map and food. If we have anything left over, we'll see if bus tickets to Chicago are expensive. It's a 20 minute walk from Chicago to Shermer," said Bender.

Meanwhile, Allison studied the silhouette of Andy moving further away from the group. Maybe he needed a bit of company…

* * *

So much ran through Andy's mind as he found a mossier spot on the ground in the moonlight that cushioned his back enough for him to lie down. The sky was lined with little blue stars. Andy realized that if one lied still enough, the stars almost look liked they throbbed. 

God, so much was happening! It was like a hopeless case for them. They had no way of getting home, no cash, no connections, and four stubborn morons who couldn't tell east from west if they were looking at a compass and facing north! How could they get their way out of this? Not far, if Bender remained the ringleader. That boy made Andy want to tear his eyes out! Andy sighed and absorbed the feeling of being alone.

Andy heard a delicate rustling sound from behind him, and looked straight up into the face of Allison. He smiled. The one he'd hoped would follow him.

"I thought you'd be all alone and need some company," Allison said, sitting beside him.

"I hoped you'd join me," Andy said in return.

"Bizarre day, hasn't it been?" Allison remarked. Andy looked up at her.

"Yeah. Yep, it has," said Andy. Allison began tearing out individual blades of grass as Andy studied the way her hair shone in the waxing moonlight.

"You know, this isn't going to be an easy weekend. Getting home, I mean," began Allison. Andy nodded.

"No doubt about that," said Andy.

"I really think the only way we can get back to Shermer at all is if we stick together and trust each other," Allison said, rocking herself back and forth.

"Bender's getting on everyone's nerves, how can we?"

"John didn't get on my nerves, nor Brian's or Claire's. I think you just need to give him some slack. Out of all of us, he's the most street wise. We need him. We need you too. You're very smart too, and strong. Brian, Claire and I need to depend on you to remain sane in case one of us can't," Allison said. Andy laughed.

"You make me sound like a hero," Andy said.

"Well, we all need each other," Allison said. "Please rejoin everyone. It'll be like a campout," Allison said. "John said if we stop tomorrow night near a wood, he has a lighter and we could have a campfire too. But…we need to get there, and it won't feel right having you go on by yourself," Allison said. "I'm usually never the wise one, but then again I'm also not the stubborn one here."

Andy nodded and sat up, looking Allison in the face. The way the moon reflected off her eyes was breathtaking.

"Please?" Allison asked. "You don't have to apologize. Just agree to put up with John when he's got an ego surge, just as Claire is making him promise to tolerate you when you have one," she said. Andy nodded.

"I will, thanks Al," said Andy, getting up, then holding out a hand to help Allison up. Looking at the group, Andy sighed. "Here goes…"


	3. Doubts in the Darkness

The five members of The Breakfast Club remained awake as the moon rose higher in the sky. They lied in a circle with their heads facing in. Bender next to Claire, next to Brian, next to Andy, next to Allison, who in turn was next to Bender of the other side, completing the circle. They spent the evening talking about light subjects in order to ease their nerves. Feeling the warm late spring breeze on their toes (they all took off their shoes), sniffing the joint Bender lit up and allowing the fumes to settle their own nerves (Allison breathed through her mouth, she hated marijuana after what she saw it did to her older brother), and trying their best to not think about the undoubtly hard weekend (maybe longer period of time) ahead of them. The starry sky didn't have a sign of clouding (which was good…should rain or thunder erupt, they'd be royally screwed…let alone the fact that this was prime Illinois tornado season). Bender, Claire, and Andy talked the most throughout the first few hours. Allison listened to their stories as if she were being read a bedtime story. Brian's rhythmic breathing and immobile body led everyone to believe he was asleep…and so he was.

"I bet he's in bed by nine every night!" remarked Bender.

"Yeah, well not all of us are out club-hopping every night in downtown Chicago until 3 in the morning!" said Claire. "I've never been up this late…unless I was on the phone with my brother. He just got engaged and won't shut up about it. My parents are too self-absorbed to give a damn about it so I let him talk on the speaker phone in my room as I doze off sometimes."

"Eh, I really don't have a time every night," said Andy. "It depends on what kind of day I'm having tomorrow. If I have a match or gym class, or if I have a training session, I'll be weight-lifting until midnight."

"I like staying up all night and sleeping during the day," piped up Allison. "The night is so haunting and mysterious. I'd rather be nocturnal," said Allison. Andy laughed. That sounded exactly like what Allison would say!

"Your parents don't care?" asked Claire. "If you went nocturnal, wouldn't they freak just a little?"

"No. No, they're too busy to notice they have a daughter. With my brothers, Mr. Perfect and Mr. Fuck-Up taking up every instance of their time. With Mr. Perfect making his way in Hollywood and Mr. Fuck-Up digging himself a hole of monster debt, dear old mom and dad don't know that they have me. You know that movie…the one with John Travolta…um…'Staying Alive?'"

"DO I? Travolta's one of my favorites!" Claire expressed.

"My oldest brother, Randall, was an extra dancer in that movie. Ever since, I guess I just faded from sight," Allison confessed. "They probably won't even miss me if I'm gone for more than the weekend," Allison bit her lip so she wouldn't blurt out anymore information or cry anymore.

"Me too, but then again, all of you know about that shit," Bender said. "I wouldn't be surprised if they threw a party when they realize I'm missing."

"I can't imagine it at all," confessed Andy. "Imagine, not being missed by your own parents! I mean, my father will miss me, but only because I'm not at my training or physical therapy sessions and am wasting his money. My mom would be crying over me though."

"It's actually a liberating feeling sometimes," confessed Allison. "It makes you feel like you're not chained down."

"Exactly!" exclaimed Bender.

"Oh come on, none of you can tell me it doesn't feel a LITTLE saddening!" Claire reasoned. Allison didn't speak. Neither did Bender. "Liars," she accused.

"Not every daughter on earth is Daddy's Little Princess, Cherry!" said Bender. "And not every son is Pop's Champ!" Andy grunted.

"Sh! Brian's sleeping!" warned Allison. The fighting ceased for a moment. "About tomorrow, how can we possibly make 60 miles in a weekend?"

"A bus, there's gotta be one to Chicago, then Shermer is 20-minute walk from there," said Bender. Allison nodded.

"The night is so beautiful!" Allison sighed, changing the subject. "It makes me want to fly and touch every star up there!"

Andy smiled and licked his front tooth. "If you could fly, you could've caught up to the bus this afternoon."

"I wish! Sometimes the simplest things overwhelm me. Once, I was in a candy store, and I pondered for nearly two hours over how they got the nougat inside a Snickers bar! The manager got so fed up he gave me the candy bar for free and pushed me out of the store!" Andy laughed. Allison was such a wonder!

"I've never really taken much notice of simple things," he said in return.

"You are always too self-involved to even try," said Allison. "You need to learn to not be afraid to piss your dad off so you can give yourself the chance!"

"I think…" Andy paused. He didn't want to confess anything. Not now, not with Claire and Bender listening in. "I think when we get back to town, we should set some time aside just for stargazing, you and me," he proposed. Allison squealed. "I'll take that as a yes!"

"I'd like that a lot!" Allison yawned. She felt herself getting woozy. Involuntarily (MAYBE) she leaned her head on Andy's shoulder and dozed off. Andy looked down at her, sleeping on her shoulder. He smiled and reached for his letterman jacket behind him with his free hand, and put it over Allison and himself as a blanket and allowed himself to go dancing on a star with her.

"Are they asleep already?" asked Bender. A pause. "Cherry?"

"Yeah, I think so…" said Claire. "John? About tomorrow, can we make it to Shermer by nightfall if we walked?"

"Nawh, dork had it right with the number crap he was talking about earlier. If we can't get a Chicago bus, then we'll have to spend another night like this, out in a fucking field with nothing to eat. I'm gonna get a 2-pound burger tomorrow for breakfast!"

"You can't!" said Claire.

"Are you a vegetarian or something?" asked Bender, rolling his eyes. Vegetarians were certainly missing out…and it annoyed him.

"No, but we only have a few ten dollar-bills! We have to ration it in case we get stuck out here longer. There's five people and thirty bucks, roughly, once we get a map. Each person should hold just 6 dollars for food! Things are so expensive today that barely buys someone a loaf of bread," Claire remarked.

"I'm surprised, you're so used to getting your servants to go shopping for you on THEIR salaries! I bet you never set foot in a corner store!"

"I have too, and shut up, everyone else is sleeping!" Claire said back. "I think we should see what kind of cheap food they have and do our best!"

"This fucking sucks, I'll be sober in the morning too! I always get hungover after being sober for a night!" said Bender, frustrated.

"Isn't it the other way around?" asked Claire warily.

"Not with me!"

"That's very sad," said Claire. Bender crossed his arms over his chest.

"Oh gee, thanks!" he said sarcastically.

"No, not like in pathetic! But it's tragic how the only way you can have a life is by drinking or smoking yourself into oblivion every night. There ARE other ways of having fun and adventures!"

"Name one, and I swear to god if you say the varsity club…"

"Maybe if you just let down your stone-cold defensive attitude long enough for no one to be afraid of you, you might find yourself having some better ways of enjoying life," Claire said. "Maybe you'll get a girl, too."

"What do you mean 'get a girl'? I showed you my wallet and I'll show you again!" Bender said defensively.

"John, after you showed me the photos, I saw half of then on the covers of nudie calendars and CD album covers. Many, if not all of them, were fake. You were putting on a false front! I think that's really sad." Bender bit his lip. How could ANYONE see through his wallet? 'Cherry, Cherry Princess' was the first ever to notice it! Bender didn't know where he ever got feelings for her. She was such a bitch sometimes. He tried to get up in an attempt to avoid any more confrontation, but Claire put her soft, pale hand on his shoulder before he even had the chance to get up.

"You're going to run away to avoid me now, aren't you?"

Was she a psychic, or what?

"Get your hand off me! You have no right to touch me or to assume any move I make! Not to mention insulting me like this! You think you're so goddamn smart, don't you? You think you can show everyone up, and then you'll be risen up high on a goddamn pedestal!" Bender groaned, wishing he could roll another joint. He didn't have enough weed, though. Damn.


	4. Down the Road

Day broke over the grassy field gently and with ease. Not a single cloud obscured the rising sun as it made its daily debut. The first to wake was Brian, and just as well. He needed the most time to absorb the shock that last night wasn't a bad dream. He got up and stretched, looking down at the circle of friends at his feet. He snickered to himself. Andy and Allison were both sleeping under his sporty jacket, Allison's head was on Andy's shoulder, and his arm was a cushion underneath her neck. Meanwhile, Bender was sprawled out on the floor, facing Claire, who in turn was curled up in a fetal position between his leg and arm. Brian had to whiz, and then he knew he had to wake everyone up, or else they'd lose time. Time, in this case, was more precious than money if they wanted to be in Shermer by Monday.

Brian answered his call of nature in a small grove of maple trees growing behind the museum. By the time he got back, Allison and Bender were stretching awake. Andy and Claire still were out cold. Brian felt glad; he'd probably be beaten senseless if he woke up Bender at daybreak.

"Morning, Brian," said Allison. "It's real…it wasn't a dream!" she remarked.

"This still sucks," Bender hissed, staring at Claire. "Better wake up the slugs," he said. Allison nodded. Bender started kicking the sole of Claire's boots. "Common, up and at 'em, Cinderella!"

Allison took a more subtle approach and leaned down close to Andy. He had such a round face with perfectly pink cheeks! She gently shook his shoulder. He gently fluttered his eyes open to reveal Allison's face surrounded by a halo of morning sunlight. Andy grinned. Seeing Allison's face first thing in the morning certainly made him feel ready for the day!

"Morning, sunshine!" he said. Oh god…did he REALLY just say that?

Allison didn't seem to mind. "Up and at 'em, Sporto! It's gonna be a long day!"

"Even more long if Sleeping Beauty over here won't get up!" said Bender. Claire still hadn't moved. He leaned close in to Claire's ear (amazing how she's spent the night on the ground and yet her hair still smelled like citrus shampoo) and snickered. "WAAAAAAKE UUP!" he hollered, sending Claire springing to her feet screaming. After she found her sense, Bender began laughing. Claire dealt him several feeble slaps, which didn't seem to bother him.

"You jerk! You pig!" she said. Everyone was cracking up.

"We're gonna start our trek as soon as we can, alright?" asked Brian. "I think there's a gas station a mile or so up the road. We can eat and get a map," Brian suggested. Andy nodded.

"Let's get going now!" said Allison. Bender nodded, and the group made their way to the main road and began heading east. The morning was cool and bright, which made for an easy walk. Andy, Allison, and Bender walked in front, Claire and Brian followed close behind. They were still tired, and Andy's back did hurt a bit, so it was a good hour before they found the gas station that Brian estimated to be only a mile down the road. It was a small little shack with a single gas pump.

Allison and Brian decided to stay outside. "I'll just eat whatever you get…but I'm allergic to peanuts," Allison said. Andy nodded. Allison and Brian sat down on the curb as the other three went into the store. A young man was at the counter with a missing front tooth and a huge zit on his eyebrow, tapping his finger.

Bender went for the maps along the back wall and began looking through them. Claire and Andy started looking at prices on bags of chips and protein bars, which could give them more strength. The protein bars were too expensive for each person to have one. Andy found a discount rack against the back wall, where old damaged boxes of glazed donuts were being sold for a dollar a dozen. It WAS carbohydrates, and a dozen would give each of them two and a half donuts…filling. Andy showed the box to Claire, who nodded. Claire had a gallon of water that was a dollar fifty. Water was important, so Andy agreed. Bender met them in front of the register with a map in his hand.

"It's of the area, and Shermer's right on the edge of the map, so it'll work," he said. The ugly cashier rang up the purchases. The total came $3.25. Bender had 33 dollars. $29.75 was enough to get them bus tickets if they were sold here.

"Does a bus to Chicago come by here, pizza-face?" asked Bender. The dimwitted boy shook his head.

"Nawh. The only bus out here runs through Hillsdale, I think," he said with a weird accent. Bender felt he was trapped in an episode of Green Acres, and he was talking to Ebb!

"How far down the road is it?" asked Claire.

"Ma'am, I think it's about 20 miles east of here," said the boy, giving Bender his change. "You all related?"

The trio ignored the boy and went outside with their loot. Bender sat down on the curb next to Brian and unfolded the map and whipped out a Sharpie he'd lifted from the gas station (it was a run down place managed by a teenager…who'd know?) and started plotting routes with him, while Andy, Allison, and Claire divided the donuts. The five ate their donuts in silence. By the time everyone finished, and took a sip of the water, they were full enough to start walking to Hillsdale, and Brian had found the quickest route.

Once on the road, things got boring quickly. Not a single person was on the road, on car or on foot. Brian didn't think they could make 20 miles in a day, not at their crappy pace. Bender kept himself busy by telling dirty jokes to Claire…

"A pirate with a steering wheel over his crotch walks into a bar, and the bartender says, 'Why do you have a steering wheel over your crotch like that? And the pirate goes, 'Ar! It's driving me nuts!'" Bender cracked himself up (Allison too, who was snickering to herself), but the joke had failed to amuse anyone else. "What's a zit on Dick Vernon's ass? A brain tumor!" Bender and Allison were again the only ones to laugh at the jokes, although Brian tried to hide the fact he cracked a smile. "Dick used to be a terrorist, you know. He got fired because one day his mob boss told him to go blow up a car, and he burned his lips on the exhaust pipe!"

This time Bender, Allison, and Brian all cracked up. Andy and Claire still refused to laugh. Bender kept it going.

"A naked blonde walks into a bar with a poodle under one arm and a two-foot salami under the other. She lays the poodle on the table. Bartender says 'I suppose you won't be needing a drink?" The naked lady says—"

"—could you shut up for awhile, PLEASE?" asked Claire. Andy nodded.

"It's bad enough we're wandering around in the middle of nowhere after being abandoned by a school bus, but we don't need you shitty sense of—" Andy silenced himself after Allison gave him a pleading look saying "Remember last night…"

As noon approached, the group of five stopped to take sips of water, which was no longer cold…but a little under room temperature. Andy had been carrying it and using it as a surrogate dumbbell as he walked and doing reps on both arms with it. The gallon was half-empty, and it was lunchtime. Only Allison, who'd intelligently saved one of her donuts from the morning, ate anything. There weren't any buildings around, just the occasional barn and silo. At about one o'clock, Claire couldn't stand walking in her heeled boots anymore, so she took them off and slung them over her shoulder and walked barefoot. Brian had tripped over a rock while studying the territory and not looking where he was going, and walked with a slight limp in his left leg. Bender's forehead was lined with beads of sweat. Allison looked at the ground as she walked. Her ankles were blistering, but she didn't dare say a word, because no one had spoken since Andy told bender to stop telling bad jokes. Even Sporto Andy admitted to himself he needed a break. They refused to stop.

The sun began to dip lower in the sky, and Brian's watch read 2:34 PM. He sighed woefully and looked at the small set of clouds starting to build to the west. No, it couldn't rain now!

A sudden noise broke his train of thought. It was whistling sound coming from Bender's pursed lips. He almost immediately recognized it as the marching tune from _"Bridge on the River Kwai"_ that they'd been whistling the day they all had detention together while waiting for lunch! Brian smiled to himself and picked up the harmony from where he'd joined in before. Andy and Claire joined in during the next refrain. Allison couldn't whistle, so she just blew air out of her mouth and picked up a twig on the side of the road and twirled it like a baton with a goofy grin on her face. Claire laughed at her random enthusiasm, especially how she was such a great twirler. Claire had twirled batons at cheerleader camp in 7th grade, but no one in the entire camp…even the counselors, were as skilled and coordinated as Allison was. The group didn't realize their feet began walking in unison with the beat of the song.

And so the five students walked along, whistling marching songs and slowly but surely made their way down the road towards Hillsdale.


	5. Uptown Girl

The day aged gracefully, and the clouds Brian had feared passed benignly, leaving a gorgeous red sunset in their wake. Night was beginning to fall, and they group of five knew they were nowhere near Hillsdale. So they finally rested beside a lamppost and Brian unfolded the lamp under the light. Studying it, he got an odd look on his face.

"Did anyone see anything peculiar along the road?" he asked. "Any signs or landmarks?"

Andy nodded. "I remember we just passed a sign. I think it said something about Lewis Woods being around here," he confirmed. Brian nodded and started scanning the map for a "Lewis Woods." He seemed to find it, then measured the scale and determined mileage. He sat up straight after what seemed like three hours of studying and looked disturbed.

"Lewis Woods is 13 miles from Hillsdale, 53 miles from Shermer. You guys, we only walked 7 miles total today! At the most!" Bender let out a loud exasperated groan. "If we keep up at this pace, it'll take roughly two weeks to reach Shermer, another two days to reach Hillsdale," he calculated in his head.

"TWO WEEKS?" asked Bender in disbelief.

"My feet hurt," said Allison.

"I'm starving," said Andy.

"I'm getting cramps," whined Claire.

"Looks like we're gonna have to make camp somewhere again tonight…" said Brian. Everyone looked around. Instead of field, it was all woods surrounding them. Brian looked afraid to go sleep in a forest at night. Bender looked above him and snorted, suddenly thrusting himself into the air. Claire gasped as he climbed into a tree and swung himself like an ape (a really strong ape, Claire thought) into the woods. He stopped about four trees in.

"What? I'm not gonna end up stepping on some rabid snake or something! There's gotta be a hunter's platform up here somewhere we can sleep on…"

"John, snakes don't get rabies, only rodents and small mammals can get rabies!" corrected Brian.

"A WHAT?" called Andy.

"A hunter's platform, Sporto! My grandpop would tell me about his old hunting days as a kid, and there'd be a few wooden platforms built in a circle up in the trees so they could shoot game from above. Unless you wanna sleep where animals piss…" he teased. Andy grunted.

"This is SOOO unrealistic!" Claire whined to herself. Allison suddenly climbed up into a tree and followed Bender's lead. She moaned in a funny pitch to try and get the others to follow. Bender kept on moving to see where the hunting platforms could be. Brian hopped into the tree next and, while struggling more than the previous climbers, made his way to the tree next to Allison's tree. Andy then gave Claire a boost so she could climb in the tree, then Andy hoisted himself into the maze of branches last. They all followed Bender's and Allison's lead. They swung around like monkeys for awhile while Bender tried looking for platforms.

"Maybe no one hunts around here," suggested Brian.

"No way in hell am I sleeping in a tree!" said Andy.

"No way in hell am I sleeping on the ground in the woods!" retorted Bender. After another few minutes, he struck gold. "Found one!" he said, letting go of a branch and placing his feet on a solid wood platform. He took his lighter out of his pocket and ignited it for light. "Guys! There's three huge ones here in a circle! Big enough for two each!" he called. "Dibs on this one for myself and no one else!" he claimed a platform for him self.

Andy and Brian climbed to the platform on the right, and Claire and Allison made their way left. Once everyone got settled on the three platforms, Bender began picking kindling off the tree behind him.

"Dork, go find a few rocks," he commanded. Brian got down and went rock hunting.

Claire asked, "What are you doing?"

"I'm cold, I'm building a fire," he said.

"On a wooden platform?" she asked back.

"Ah, let him burn himself!" Andy snapped. "At least that'll be one less mouth to count pennies for!"

"I'm hungry," Allison said.

"Can't really do much about that. We won't hit any store with edible merchandise until Hillsdale," said Andy. Allison whined.

"I just can't believe in this day and age, five teens are being forced to sleep and live like cavemen in the trees. Only to us!" Claire remarked. "I still can't believe this!"

"Cherry, the instant you get over yourself, we'll all be home and you can go swim in your Olympic-sized hot tub like a good schoolgirl, okay?" Bender snapped, annoyed. Claire gave 'hmph!' and shut up.

Brian came stumbling back with a handful of moderate-sized rocks and had an interestingly easy time climbing up into Bender's tree to give him said rocks. Bender quickly arranged these and loaded the wood into the circle. He then lit the lighter, and within ten minutes, a decent-sized fire was burning with enough light and heat to warm everyone up.

"What are we gonna do about food?" asked Brian. "Three days at our pace to Hillsdale, I doubt there will be much in between. Maybe a truck stop?"

"Let's hope to god there's a truck stop. If we go without food too long, we won't be able to walk on to Hillsdale," said Claire.

"There's a way for everything," said Allison, lying down face down on the platform, her head looking at the ground. She saw something scurry away on it below…a raccoon? Cool! She let out a little squeal in excitement.

The next hour was silent within the group. Andy and Brian fell asleep rather quickly. Allison, while still awake, had taken to playing a game, lying face-up, trying to make pictures out of the way the branches of the trees wove through each other, all while humming a French song her nanny used to sing to her as a girl. So far she'd seen a rabbit, an image of Andy's face, a studying student, and an abstract version of the _Mona Lisa_. She knew as long as the fire kept going on Bender's platform, she could see a million things, and even then, the moon (still not completely full…it would be tomorrow night) would light the way. Allison eventually drifted off into a pleasant sleep imagining her and Andy walking along a moonlit beach. By 11 PM, Claire and Bender remained awake.

"John, can I come over?" Claire asked. The fire was shrinking and Claire was getting cool. Bender nodded and waved her over. Claire gasped and leapt as far as she could, surprisingly landing clear on Bender's platform. Claire sighed in relief and sat on her knees, huddling herself closer to the fire. It was unusally cool tonight for a late May night. Bender groaned.

"I know you think so, but we're really not totally fucked," said Bender.

"Oh? How so?"

"I think I saw a sign, the one before Lewis Woods, it said something about a diner and truck stop about 3 miles away. We should be able to make that by 10 o'clock tomorrow," Bender said. "Get some eats, maybe bum a ride—"

"—I'm NOT hitchhiking!" Claire immediately asserted.

"Fine! I guess we could call a taxi out there or something," Bender suggested.

"No taxi would drive 45 miles out of Chicago to pick up 5 kids with no money!" Claire reasoned. Bender sighed and curled himself up, watching the red embers crackle where his fire was dying.

"Maybe after we eat in the morning, we can figure something out," said Bender. "That diner had better have bacon and eggs, or else there will be hell to pay!"

"If you get the bacon and eggs, you'd have to split it with the five of us. We can't afford anything more than probably a bagel each, maybe we could splurge for an English muffin with butter…"

"Ugh, this blows. Stupid bus driver asswipe. If the chaperones had half a brain, then we'd have been home for two days already with full stomachs and no worries!" Bender cussed.

"Maybe it's fate," Claire said. Bender snorted in disapproval.

"You're such a cherry," Bender said.

"No, maybe we needed this time. We're learning a lot about each other," Claire said, admiring the way the embers in the ash made the whites of Bender's eyes glow.

"Like what? Other than the fact that Allison is a good stick twirler and Andy whines like a baby when he's hungry," Bender said.

"Well, I learned that you're really resourceful. The platform idea was pretty clever," she admitted. Bender looked at his feet and smirked.

"Well, I have my grandpop to thank," Bender said. "His jackass son was nothing like him," he said. "I don't know what went wrong! He died when I was twelve."

"What was your grandpop like?" asked Claire.

"He was who I'd rather be the son of. I stayed with him more often than I did at home. He'd been a widower since as long as I can remember, and I was the only company he ever had," Bender said. Claire sighed.

"Sometimes I wonder if my parents were like yours, if I would be like you," Claire said.

"Nawh. You're a girl. You'd probably turn into a slut like my mom, instead of a bastard like my dad," Bender said. Claire gulped.

"If you ever need a place like your grandpop's place, my door will always be open," Claire promised. Bender tried to hide the fact that he was blushing like a girl. He didn't want to go soft just because a pretty 'Uptown Girl' was offering him a sanctuary.

"Get some sleep," he ordered her. "Another big day tomorrow," he warned. Claire nodded and made her way back to the platform she shared with Allison and lied down, drifting off to sleep quickly. Bender watched her for a minute, then got on his feet and stomped on the embers so the fire went out. Once he was sure the fire was gone, Bender laid down, stretched out and watched the stars flicker while he drifted off.


	6. Stowing Away

The next morning came, much warmer than the previous night. The five travelers got up at around the same time, took turns going to the bathroom, and found their way back to the road (they were much deeper in the woods then they have originally thought. They kept walking up the road for about an hour and a half, hungry and thirsty. No one bothered to complain. What good would complaining do? Bender kept an eye out for the diner. Other than he and Claire, no one was even aware of the diner's existence. Bender kept it that way so no one would whine about it.

So when they came upon a small trucker diner on the side of the road around 10:30, everyone got excited. They willingly followed the long, winding driveway up to the "Lewis Woods Diner." Brian held to door open for everyone, and once everyone had piled into the joint, the overwhelming smell of eggs in a frying pan and baking waffles, not to mention fresh hot coffee and crisp fruit cooling in a refrigerator, everyone went insane with ravenous hunger. A lanky waitress with dark brown ringlets sat them down at a table. No one, even Brian, felt money was an issue. The last thing they'd eaten were stale donuts from a roadside gas station 24 hours ago. Everyone was starving, especially Claire and Andy, Claire because she was already thin, and Andy because he was used to 4,000 calories of food daily. Allison was also ready to pounce on the displays of various fruit pies at the counter.

"What can I do you for?" asked the waitress, pulling out a pen and pad of paper. Everyone lost their senses.

"I'll have a HUGE plate of sausage and fried eggs," said Bender. "With a black coffee."

"A double order of eggs benedict with a side of hash browns," Andy ordered, "With a large coffee, two sugars."

"May I have two buttermilk pancakes with ketchup on top? Chocolate milk, please?" asked Allison. Everyone stares at her. "Oh yeah, sprinkle some powdered sugar over the ketchup, too!" Bender looked like she'd just ordered a heaping pile of mud.

"I'll have a ham and spinach omelet with wheat toast on the side," said Claire. "And a green tea with lemon?"

Brian licked his lips. "I'd like an order of home fries with a side of scrambled eggs, and a milk, please?"

The waitress nodded and went to place the order. Brian pulled out the map and began measuring distances and plotting trails. "Guys, Hillsdale is 13 miles further on this road. That's two more days, and it's already Sunday. Not a good situation if you ask me…"

"What we need is some wheels!" said Bender.

"What, do you expect a 4X4 to fall out of the sky?" asked Andy.

"After all the random crap that's happened the last 2 days, I'd say it's VERY possible, Sporto!" replied Bender. Andy groaned and leaned back. In about 20 minutes, the food was served, and everyone dug in. Every edible morsel was gone within 10 minutes of serving. Then the waitress handed Brian the check. Brian's eyes boggled out of his skull.

"26.50??? Do we HAVE that much??" asked Brian. Bender pulled out his wad of cash and counted.

"We do, but it leaves us with…two bucks!" he said loudly. Claire gulped as Bender slapped the money on the table.

"Nice thinking, jerk!" said Andy.

"Shut up! We ate, didn't we?" Bender retorted. Andy didn't speak, but rubbed his stomach. Indeed, it felt good having a full gut again.

Once back on the street in front of the diner, everyone sat down to think. They'd just blown all their cash and hopes for bus ticket money on breakfast. What now?

A red pickup truck drove up the driveway into the diner. Bender watched it as it parked, and an older man climbed out of the seat and walked past the kids into the diner. He suddenly got an idea. He hopped up and strolled casually over to the truck. He studied the cargo and leftover space in the back (it was all covered in blue plastic tarp). "Come here!" he motioned quickly. Everyone followed him.

"The truck was pulling in from the west. He's going the same way we are!" Bender said.

"Screw that idea!" Andy said. "I know what you're thinking and it won't work!"

"I know what he's thinking too, and I think we have no other options," said Brian. Allison nodded. Bender rose an eyebrow at Andy.

"We'll hop off in Hillsdale…it'll be a 10 minute ride!" Allison said. "He'll never know we were here because of the tarp!"

Brian looked under the tarp. "What's he delivering anyway?" Brian peeked underneath the tarp. Bags of various groceries and picnic supplies were underneath. "It's food! And camping stuff!" he said. Andy shook his head.

"I'll ride along…but we're not stealing anything! THAT'S where I draw the line!" Andy said. Bender nodded and smiled mischievously.

"Deal," he said wryly. "Ladies first, before he comes back!" Allison climbed up into the back and scooted to one of the further corners underneath the tarp and curled herself into a fetal position. Claire shoved herself easily into the other corner under the tarp and behind a crate labeled "tents." Bender motioned for Brian to climb aboard next. Brian found himself a cozy little area between two bags that smelled like various iced fish. Now the problem was fitting two more guys, by far the two biggest widthwise into the already claustrophobically tight space, all while fitting under the tarp. Andy slipped himself under a crate to make a little extra room for Bender. Bender climbed in last and covered his head with a picnic blanket not packaged. Bender then covered himself in tarp.

"No one speak, or even breathe loudly. If he finds us, the whole thing is screwed!" said Andy. Allison gave a delicate 'squeak.' Now they had to wait.

About a half an hour went by, when suddenly the group heard a door slam shut and felt the motor begin running. Here they went!

They didn't get very far on the road when Brian murmured he felt a little bout of motion sickness.

"Please, for the love of god, hold it in!" Andy pleaded. Brian couldn't, but he knew he had to, for the good of the group. He tried breathing deeply though his nose. Allison licked her lips and looked admiringly at Andy's ass, which was literally in her face. Lucky her! Andy picked at a loose thread in on his shirt sleeve. Claire peered through a hole in the tarp to see where they were going. Bender was wondering if he could make a grab for some of this stuff…it might prove useful if something went wrong…

Brian couldn't hold it in anymore. He felt himself hurl all over Bender's shoes, which were the closest thing to his face. Claire shrieked and grabbed her nose. Brian turned red in humiliation. Bender screamed bloody murder: "WHAT THE HELL???"

"Jesus!" exclaimed the driver from up front, pulling the truck over. Oh shit. Busted.

Bender gasped. "Everyone bolt!" he yelled, tumbling out of the truck, taking the tarp with him. Andy fell out, along with Claire. Brian and Allison jumped quickly off the sides, but not before Allison slipped a few somethings in her big purse and under her shirt…

The driver started pursuing the renegades as they scattered. He began cursing at them. "You little mongrels better not have nicked my goods or I'll have your scrawny asses in jail before you can say 'sorry'! You little hooligans had better keep running, 'cuz if I see any of you again I'll kill ya for puking on my goods!" he eventually gave up running and went back to his truck and drove off.

Bender was the first one to come out of hiding under a bush. He found Claire and Brian ducking a few bushes down and gave them the all-clear. Andy and Allison were found a few minutes later, hanging from trees. They all reconvened and sat, trying to figure out how far they'd gone. Andy volunteered to run out and find a street sign that could give them a clue. He came back an hour later with news.

"I saw a sign that said, 'Hillsdale: 9 miles!'" he declared. Brian groaned.

"We only went 4 miles. 9 miles is a whole day for us!" he said sadly. Everyone moaned. "I don't think we can make Hillsdale by dark. It's already noon, so lets go as far as we can, then we'll hideout again for the night. We should make it to Hillsdale this time tomorrow," he said. Everyone agreed and reluctantly trudged on, their bodies aching from being squeezed in the back of the pickup truck.

* * *

Because of the morning's painful events, the Breakfast Club could only walk at half their normal pace. No one really talked. Even Bender didn't make his usual jokes. By about 4 PM, no one could go further. It was getting close to sunset, but still bright enough so the group could find a spot in the woods more easily than last night climbing through trees in the dark. About ¼ of a mile deep into the woods, the trees cleared to reveal a decent-sized body of clear water, with a 5-foot wide sandy beach, and the rest all green grass. It was like looking at a postcard. 

"A random lake in the middle of the woods?" Bender scoffed.

Brian shook his head. "No, probably a reservoir or part of a local nature reserve. It doesn't look like anybody comes here. There's no picnic tables, and no evidence humans have been here at all…"

"We'll call it Benderland!" Bender declared. Claire laughed.

"Looks like a good place to spend the night," she said. Allison began laughing. "What is it?" asked Claire. Allison emptied her large baggy purse. An array of food packages, mostly various canned pastas, fell onto the ground, along with ten bottles of water, a small cooking pot, and a can opener. Allison then opened up her sweater to reveal a large, neatly-folded picnic blanket, which could easily lie underneath all five of them lying down. Everyone's mouths hung open. She had a BIG bag.

"I'll be damned…for once the criminal DIDN'T do it!" Bender remarked. Allison licked her bottom lips, proud of herself. Brian and Andy looked pleased. Claire looked horrified.

"If that guy finds out we STOLE things, he'll throw us in jail!" Claire panicked.

"Chill, Queenie! He'll never find us or give a damn! He had enough in there already!" Bender assured her. "Now, let's get a fire going and eat some, Damnit!"


	7. The Bare Necessities

**MATURITY ALERT: Don't read if you're not mature enough to handle it!

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**

Allison, Brian, and Claire split a can of spaghetti and meatballs for dinner. Bender and Andy were each able to eat their own can of ravioli. Altogether, once counted before eating, Allison had managed to steal 7 cans of assorted pasta, a box of cheerios, and a tin of trail mix along with the small pan, the can opener, and the blanket. Claire wouldn't admit it, but she was thankful Allison had the balls to steal the food and supplies. Because of their splurge at the Lewis Woods Diner, they couldn't afford another meal at all until they got home! They weren't FULL after the dinner, but at least they weren't starving like the night before.

The sun was beginning to set, and everyone was now stretching and relaxing. Claire was running her fingers through her messy hair. She felt so disgusting! She wanted desperately take her clothes off and go swimming the in the reservoir. But no way in hell was she in front of others…especially Bender!

"I'd kill for a bath!" she expressed to everyone while lying on the grass. Allison sat up.

"Me too…let's go skinny-dipping!" she proposed. Everyone looked at her with horror.

"NO!" Brian immediately said. Bender snickered.

"I'm in!" he said.

"Common, guys! It's not like we're gonna be having sex or anything! Besides, we ALL kinda stink!" said Allison. "On second thought, maybe you guys are scared because you're all GROSS!" she challenged. Bender snickered.

Bender stood up and ripped off his flannel shirt, leaving him topless (and Claire breathless). He crossed his arms and smirked. "Please?" he whined sarcastically. "You know, looking at me is a treat!"

Allison snorted and stood up, taking her sweater off to reveal she was wearing a lacy black bra. This was enough to make Andy begin taking his shirt off. Allison grinned and looked at the ground. Brian thought a minute and figured he didn't have much to lose, and so he began unzipping his pants. Claire hid her head in her lap, refusing to look. Andy couldn't take his eyes off Allison as she undid her bra and slipped off her skirt. Her body wasn't MODEL hot, but her small breasts were in great proportion to her curvy torso and shapely legs. Andy felt his face going red as he dropped his pants and underwear. Allison winked at him and smiled. He lacked the six-pack she'd dreamed of, but he still was pretty nice looking!

Meanwhile Bender was already running at the water without any shame howling like a werewolf. Brian erupted in laughter. Allison leapt in after him, Andy following to make sure Bender kept his hands off her. Brian cautiously entered the water and sighed in relief. The water was cool, but still kind of warm. Bender began splashing around like a fool. Allison did her own little water ballet thing for Andy, who watched, beet red and breathless. Allison didn't mind rolling in the water nude in front of him. She actually wanted to flaunt herself more. She could tell Andy was drooling over her.

Out of the blue, Allison turned around and saw Claire, stark naked, stepping into the reservoir, hands crossed over her chest, legs crossed as far as they could as long as she still walked. Allison winked.

"I still smell bad, don't I?" Claire said. Bender turned around and smirked.

"The water's fine, but the cherry is finer!" he joked. His eyes skimmed the body Claire let show and felt turned on. He could sense her tenseness. "We're all human! Except Dork-A-Tron here!" Bender said, sneaking up behind Brian and pushing his head underwater.

Claire belly-flopped into the reservoir, covering herself quickly. For the next hour and a half, the five friends splashed, bathed, danced around, and acted like the naked fools they were. Bender stood up in shallow water, shaking his naked ass in Claire's face. Claire blushed and dunked herself under water. Meanwhile, Brian had gotten a little more comfortable with his skin and was kicking around a bit, no longer worried about his "little buddy" (as his dad would call it) making an appearance. After all, Bender's "little buddy" was creating its' own one-man show tonight in the reservoir! Brian still was hesitant looking at the girls. Claire was being very modest, and Allison was being…well…the opposite.

Brian laughed as he caught a glimpse of Andy jumping out of the water and doing a flip before falling back in. But wait…Brian caught a glimpse of something…or SOMEONE, near where they had put their clothes. Brian squinted. Oh shit…two boys and a girl were laughing at them and snatching up their clothes!

"JOHN!" Brian warned. Bender turned around to see the three kids running off with everyone's clothes into the woods. Bender immediately started running after the little twerps. Brian and Andy stumbled out of the water and chased as well. Claire cautiously emerged, and Allison bolted. Five-on-three…they SHOULD have been able to get their clothes back…right?

* * *

Wrong. 

This was SO wrong!

Five teenagers chasing three middle-school children through the woods stark naked in the moonlight. Wasn't there a 70's porno flick out there with the same content? Bender shuttered. The little bastards were still nearby, he knew it. The five had split up in an attempt to head them off. Bender crouched in a tree, hoping one would pass by so he could pound the shit out of them from above. He saw Andy sneaking around about 30 feet in front of him. Allison was another 10 feet in front of him. Andy was mesmerized by her. Bender rolled his eyes. What a pervert!

Suddenly, he heard a branch snap from behind him. Bender whipped his head around to see one of the boys with Claire's bra on his head. He carried more clothes in his arms, Bender's own shirt draped over his shoulder!

Quietly, like a ninja, Bender turned around and waited until the boy was just below him. Then he jumped on top of him, pinning the boy to the ground. The boy, in his struggle, managed to take a picture of Bender with his Polaroid.

"You little shit! Hand them over and I won't break your arm!" Bender threatened. The boy, obviously frightened, handed everything over, the last thing being the bra. Bender stood the boy up and looked him square in the eye. "Tell your buddies to give back the other clothes NOW! Save the criminal thing for high school kid, you'll need it…especially if you end up with Dick Vernon as a principal…remember that name…Dick Vernon…got it?"

The boy nodded with a blank stare.

"Good, now go shoplift some cigarettes, okay?" Bender waved the boy away, and he turned and ran the other way, taking Bender's nudie shot with him. Bender held Claire's bra in his hand, stared at it a moment, then put it on his head. Bender put on the shirt and looked at his findings. Other than the shirt and bra, Allison's skirt, Brian's underpants, and Andy's jeans were in the bundle he held. Damn, he still didn't have his pants.

"JOHN!!" yelled Allison suddenly. Bender turned his gaze again. Allison was walking towards him with a pile of clothes in one hand, and the girl squirming around, her shirt collar in Allison's grip. "Can we eat her intestines with mustard?" she grinned jokingly.

"No…" he said, smiling. Allison was wearing her sweater and had her bag slung over her shoulder. "…I think we should go for the hollandaise sauce with this one!"

"Lemme go!" begged the girl. Allison laughed.

"You promise never to go snitching closes again? Because next time I might even splurge for the cocktail sauce!" Allison joked. The girl smiled, seeing Allison was joking about eating her. The girl nodded and dashed off in the same direction as the boy. Allison handed Bender his boxer shorts and jeans. Bender, in turn, gave Allison her skirt. She held Brian's sweater and pants, and Claire's skirt. Allison slipped on her skirt, and Bender did the same with his jeans. Then they went off in search of the others…maybe they'd retrieved the remaining clothes (Allison wasn't wearing undergarments under her skirt and sweater).

Allison and Bender returned to the clearing at the reservoir to find everyone else with the remaining bundle of clothes. Allison and Bender held up their own findings, making everyone grin and sigh in relief. Claire blushed madly and snatched her bra from Bender's head. Everyone put on their clothes and re-counted their possession to make sure nothing was missing, and nothing was. Not even the food and money. Tired from the chase, everyone collapsed on the blanket and lied in silence for a minute.

"Oh. Crap," Andy exclaimed a little while later. Brian sat up.

"What?"

"One of them took a picture of me naked," Andy said, worried. "If that thing gets around—"

"—the shithead took one of me too," said Bender.

"—and me!" said Allison. "Luckily I had my sweater on by then!"

"I say let him keep mine!" Bender said with confidence. "He knows he wants my incredible sexy body!"

Claire blushed. She'd seen Bender running through the woods, wet and naked. She knew what he meant.


	8. Lune

_**A/N: **For those of you who know the song "Lune" yeah, I KNOW it's out of it's time here, so don't bug me about it! I don't own it either.

* * *

_

The group fell asleep very soon after. Andy was, for once, sleeping very well, after the little escapade in the woods. He let the warm night air grab at him as he spread his limbs as far apart as they could go. Ever since this whole "adventure" started, Andy had felt a little more independent from his hard-ass father each day. He hadn't been lifting weights, nor wrestling, and it felt good. He'd been getting closer to his friends and laughing and just being a teenager. Andy was beginning to realize he wasn't really living life the way a kid his age was supposed to. None of them were. Claire had to act as an ambassador between her bitching parents. Brian, like himself, was being forced to act like a businessman and be the best or not be at all. Allison and Bender had it worst off. They had to live life basically on their own. Bender's parents abused him, and Allison was invisible to hers. It was sad. Also a bit ironic, out of the five, the two with the "lowest social standings" had it the roughest and instead of getting the well-deserved reprieves at school, got it just as bad. They also happened to be the most understanding and the wisest out of them. Why was life like that? Andy would kill to have just an ounce of the gentleness and wisdom Allison had, and a smidgen of the intelligence and freedom Bender possessed. Everyone regarded him as 'Mr. High-and Mighty' when in truth, he always felt like scum.

Andy rolled over in his sleep. Suddenly he heard a voice in his ear. It wasn't angelic or perfect, but it was still sweet and soft, if not a little nasally. Andy fluttered his eyes open. He'd never heard the song before…he didn't even understand the language…

_"Lune…Qui là-haut s'allume…Sur les toits de Paris…Vois…Comme un homme…Peut souffrir d'amour…"_

Andy sat up straight. Everyone else seemed to be in too deep a sleep to notice the strange words. Alison wasn't among those sleeping. Was it her? Andy flipped his head around, looking towards the reservoir. What a sight it was! The full moon reflected beautifully off the reservoir, and in the reflection was Allison's silhouette, walking slowly in the reservoir, holding her skirt and wading. She was the one singing.

_"Bel…Astre solitaire…Qui meurt…Quand revient le jour…Entends…Monter vers toi…La chant de la terre… Entends le cri…D'un homme qui a mal…Pour qui…Un million d'étoiles…Ne valent…Pas les yeux de celle…Qu'il aime…D'un amour mortel…" _Andy quietly walked down to the reservoir and sighed.

Allison heard him sigh. She turned around and smiled. "Enjoying the show?" she asked, not at all embarrassed, or so it would seem. Andy smiled.

"What the hell was that you were singing?" Andy asked. Allison kicked a little bit of water around with her toes.

"A French song my nanny taught me when I was little," she said.

"Your nanny?"

Allison nodded. "My mom hired her to raise me because my parents were always involved with my brothers. Miss Lucille Anderson. She was the only one who every acknowledged my existence in the family. After she was hired, my parents saw it as an excuse to ignore me. I was Miss Anderson's ward, not theirs!"

"That's awful," Andy muttered.

"Miss Anderson studied abroad in France in the 70's, and if I got my homework done early, she'd teach me a little French. I forgot pretty much everything…except this song. I don't really know why," Allison said. Andy rolled up his pants so he could join Allison in wading.

"What happened to Miss Anderson?"

Allison bit her lip.

"If it's prying too far, then I'll—"

"—it's not. Miss Anderson told me one day she had to go to the hospital for a surgery she called a 'biopsy.' I never saw her again. I always begged my parents to let me visit her in the hospital, but they were always so in the habit of pretending I wasn't there, I never got a word in. I don't even know if she died or what!" Andy nodded sadly. "So now whenever there's a full moon outside, I'll sing the song she taught me in kind of a tribute to her. Sometimes I find myself talking about her, and I'll call her 'mom'! I never had a mom. My mom was too involved with her darling sons, and so was my dad!" Allison kicked harder at the water. Andy even flinched.

"And I complain about my father being in my face too much. I'm so ungrateful…" Andy muttered.

"NO! Andy, you have just as bad a problem as me, you've get smothered by your dad, and he doesn't show you any love, so in a way, we're in the same boat," Allison said.

"Neither of our parents have any love for us," Andy said softly.

"No, they love us…somewhere deep inside them they do. They just take us for granted," Allison said. Andy felt warm inside as Allison put a hand on his arm.

"My dad always pushed me, and always spends every waking moment with me!" Andy said. "I have three little sisters! He barely says hello to them in the morning. My mother is the one who dotes on them, but spending time with 3 is harder than with 1. Maybe they're feeling like you do," Andy rationalized.

"My dumbass brothers probably feel the same way you do sometimes," said Allison. Andy nodded.

"I guess we're a lot more alike then we originally thought," Andy said, looking at the silver strands in Allison's hair as a result of the moon shining on her. Allison smiled wide and looked down. "That song…what was it about?"

"It's about lost love," said Allison, singing the English words softly to the same tune. _"Moon, shining high above the roofs of Paris, see how a man can suffer from love! Bright, solitary star fading away with the coming of day, hear rising up to you the songs of Earth! Listen to the cry of a man in pain for whom a million stars mean nothing compared to the eyes of the one he loves…a deadly love…"_

"That's really good," Andy complemented.

"I'm not a good singer," Allison said. "I'll hum at night when I feel alone, but—"

"—no, it's actually not a bad voice. A little weak, but with a bit of tuning up, you'd really stand out. Oh, not that you don't already, but, well, you know…"

"I'm flattered, thanks," said Allison. "You wanna learn the song? In French?" she said, smiling mischievously. Andy snorted, trying to suppress a laugh. He'd taken French freshman year, but then dropped out to double up on gym. He could barely remember how to say his name. Still, he nodded. Allison began walking in the water, and Andy followed her.

_"Lune…Qui là-haut s'allume…Sur les toits de Paris…Vois…Comme un homme…Peut souffrir d'amour…"_ Allison began singing. Andy tried to match the words.

"Loon, key load saloon…sir, lay tight the berry…Vwah…come on home…pull soufflé demure…" Andy tried singing. Allison began cracking up. Andy was so off!

_"Bel…Astre solitaire…Qui meurt…Quand revient le jour…Entends…Monter vers toi…La chant de la terre…"_

Andy distorted his face. "Bell, ass solitarie…key Murr, can't rev the shore…attend, mom takes her twah…la chateau de lat air…"

"Stop!" Allison giggled. Andy, a bit embarrassed at his goofiness, looked up at the moon, and accidentally tripped in the water. Sopping wet (again), Andy was even more embarrassed, because he could here Allison laughing her ass off. He threw a wave of water at her, which made her stumble and fall backwards into the reservoir with a shriek. Andy was the one laughing now. Allison smiled and splashed Andy just as he got up, making him fall again. Both of them started splashing each other wildly and laughing under the moonlight.

* * *

After an hour, Allison and Andy sat up on the grass, drying off, just looking at the moon. Allison hummed her song, Andy was looking for the right words to say to her. 

"Allison, I think I—"

"—I think we should get back to sleep. We'll be in Hillsdale by mid-afternoon, and it's probably 2 in the morning," Allison advised. Andy bit his tongue and nodded. He got up and held lout his hand. Allison took it, and he helped her to her feet. They kept their hands held for a moment before Allison turned around silently and pulled away. Andy put his hand in his pockets and followed her up to the blanket where everyone else slept. Allison laid down and immediately fell asleep. Andy smiled as he saw her immediately drift off. He laid down beside her, gently tucked a tuft of her hair behind her ear and out of her face, and rolled over on his back to try and sleep. But he couldn't. All he could do was stare at the moon…


	9. Grand Auto Theft

The group of five woke up on Monday and quickly left the reservoir after digging into the trail mix Allison stole and grabbing a bottle of water. They hit the road and walked briskly. Today they would finally walk into Hillsdale. Yeah, they had no bus ticket money, but many times on holidays the buses were free into Chicago, so they didn't have problem. Allison and Andy would blush every time they made eye contact, and even then it was only for a second. Allison had hoped Andy would say something more last night, but she felt the tension between them was enough for now. Plus, they had more important things to worry about…like getting home.

"When I get home, I'm gonna jump a freshman and use the cash to buy a huge-ass steak!" Bender said, imagining the red meat being gnawed apart by his teeth.

Claire smiled and decided to play along. Why not? They were almost home free! "As soon as I get home, I'm going right to sleep!"

"I'm gonna use this as an argument for why we need a different school principal!" Brian said. "I'll be done with the paper in an hour with this story!"

"I'm gonna tell my dad to 'shove it' when he yells at me for the training sessions I missed!" Andy proudly announced. Allison smiled at him in approval.

"I'm gonna take a long hot bath!" Allison said. Claire snickered for a second. Allison had read her mind for her second thing to do when she got home!

At 1 in the afternoon, after nonstop walking, Brian spotted a cluster of homes about ¼ of a mile down the road, dead ahead. Allison squealed in delight. Hillsdale. Bender let out a whoop and broke into a run. Andy tripped over himself as he tried to sprint. Allison helped him to his feet. Andy, thrilled on several levels, heaved Allison onto his back and ran piggyback…just as fast as Bender ran with no one on his back. Allison laughed. Claire and Brian tried to catch up with them, but it took a moment.

The town of Hillsdale was hardly a town in the sense of the word. It contained a few houses, a small grocery, a single restaurant, and two gas stations on either ends. There was a small school building too. The five ecstatic members of The Breakfast Club were ready to explode when they reached the grocery store. All of them piled inside, and went immediately up to the counter.

Brian asked, "When does the next bus to Chicago come?"

The old woman behind the counter looked at them with an odd face. After a minute of silence, Brian bit his lip. "There IS a bus to Chicago that runs through here…right?"

The woman shook her head. "No. Hillsdale is too damn small to be included in the bus route. Edmonston is the town you want," she said.

"Where is it?" asked Brian. Hopefully Edmonston wasn't too far.

"About 40 miles west of here," said the cashier. Brian felt his heart fall out his butt. West? That was going the other way! It had taken them 3 days to travel a total of 20 miles….that would be another whole week on the road heading AWAY from Shermer…not to mention without cash, and Allison's 'findings' weren't going to last that long.

Brian gulped and turned to face the rest. They all were in too much shock to say anything.

"Are you gonna buy something or just stand around?" asked the cashier. Everyone was speechless…even Bender. They filed out the door and sat on the curb. Allison was the first one to make noise, and even then it was only a whine of despair. Andy put his hand on her shoulder. She didn't feel much better.

"40 goddamn miles the other way!" Bender remarked. "We'll be fuckin' hobos forever at this rate!"

"40 miles seems like walking across the entire world. It's about the same distance from here to Shermer!" Claire said. Brian felt his stomach cramp with that observation. "We might as well spend the week walking towards home!"

"I can't even think about it!" said Andy. "My knee's a time bomb, and time's running out," he said. "If it caves while we're walking, we'll be fucked over royally."

"As if we aren't already fucked enough," Bender replied. Bender looked as a silver Cadillac pulled into the parking lot. A young man, mid-30's, climbed out and walked into the grocery. Bender looked at the car, and suddenly got a smirk on his face. Andy noticed the look and groaned.

"No. Fucking. Way," he asserted. Bender got up and went over to touch the car.

"John, please don't even get the idea!" Claire said. "Seriously, we're in a bad spot…but AUTO THEFT?"

"That's at least 5 years in jail!" Brian said.

"Would you rather we sit on the curb until our mommies pick us up? Because I'm SURE they know exactly where we are right now!" Bender reasoned.

"There's probably no keys in the ignition anyway, too bad!" Andy said. Allison suddenly stood up and walked over to Bender and the Cadillac.

"I can hot wire it…let's do it!" she said. Bender smiled at her. Andy stood up and ran to Allison.

"You seriously aren't thinking…wait…where the hell did you learn to hot wire a car?"

"Hot-wiring car school," said Allison. Bender rose an eyebrow. "I got bored one day," she said truthfully. "My neighbor taught me," she said. Andy nodded uneasily.

"We can't do it," he shook his head.

"Yeah, we can," Andy shot his head around. Brian had stood up from the curve and began walking towards the car. "What choice do we have? I know it's a stretch, but I'm sure that when we return the car and explain the scenario, the owner will understand," said Brian.

"Alright, dork!" Bender cheered. Claire got a horrified look on her face. Now the smart and reasonable one was approving the request for felony? What next, flying pigs?

Andy and Claire looked at each other with worried looks. "40 miles…" Andy muttered. Claire groaned. She was outnumbered. What could she do?

"40 miles," she finally conceded, pressing her lips tightly together. Bender snickered mischievously.

"I got a plan…"

* * *

"SIR!! YOU GOTTA HELP ME!" whined Brian, hurling himself into the store, panting, looking distressed, surpassing the 3 or 4 people rushing to his aid and heading straight for the barely-caring owner of the car. "My brother and sister are going to beat me!" 

"What, kid? You look 16, you'll be fine!" said the unfazed man. Brian knew he had to play it more. The idea was ridiculous…but if it would get him in his own warm bed by nightfall…he'd pretty much do anything that wasn't lethal.

"But Clay and Andrea are horrible! They want to kill me!" Brian whined.

"What did you do, kid?" asked the man.

"I—"

"Brian!" yelled Andy from the door. More gasps as he and Claire stormed inside and started chasing Brian around the store. The man looked extremely confused. What the hell was going on?

* * *

Meanwhile, Allison was working on hotwiring the Cadillac, with Bender as a lookout. He'd told everyone else to run out of the store when they heard the engine rev up. 

"Just another minute…I need to find that other wire," Allison said, wedged under the dashboard, looking up under the steering wheel. Bender smiled. This was really turning out to be a fun Memorial Day! The best ever! Hotwiring and stealing cars…this went right up there with the year his father got so drunk that he fell off the roof of their house!

"Hold on, just a sec, I'm surprised you never learned to do this, John!" Allison remarked.

"I was too busy solving world hunger," Bender answered smugly.

"Wait, YOU were the one who smeared peanut butter all over the huge wall map in the library?" Allison licked her lips and snickered. Classic! Well, not exactly CLASSIC, but Allison had been proud to be a freshman that year because of it.

"Eh, that was my freshman prank, not my best," Bender answered. "Less talk more stealing…"

"Wait up, John! I've got it!" Allison proudly announced. The engine began humming steadily, ready to hit the road.

Brian, Claire, and Andy ran outside as they heard the engine rev up. Andy, Allison, and Brian hopped in the back. Bender took the wheel and Claire hopped in the front side passenger seat. She squinted her eyes shut and covered her ears. This was NO happening! The minute the wheels turned she'd be a felon! No, worse, a felon sitting in a stolen car with four other felons!

Needless to say, that would not bode well for her Student Body President campaign next fall…

"BURN RUBBER!" John hollered excitedly, pulling the car out of the parking lot and zooming down the road and out of Hillsdale.

"I can't believe we did it!" Allison said, happily. Andy seemed to be reacting quite differently.

"Neither can I," he said. He immediately regretted getting in the car.

"We should be home in about an hour, you guys!" said Brian, studying the map. "Pending that there's no—"

Brian didn't finish his sentence. About ½ a mile down the road was a long line of cars, honking horns, and construction signs. Everyone groaned and fell back in the seat. Now of all times!

Traffic jam.


	10. Driving My Life Away

"Jesus, you'd think for one minute we'd get a break!" Bender moaned. The Breakfast Club and their stolen Cadillac had been stuck in traffic for nearly 3 hours…and they'd barely gone 3 miles.

"John, this is not good, we have to pass a police line to get out of here!" Claire said.

"I guess this proves Murphy's Law is true," remarked Brian.

"No, what would prove it was true is if the car burst into flames," said Andy. Allison ducked and squeaked, as if she were anticipating it. Andy patted her back, and Allison sat up again. No flames. Yet.

"You guys, we're gonna be cool, alright?" said Bender in a feeble attempt to calm the group down. Claire kept tapping her feet and looking out the window.

"My parents would always play a game with me when we were stuck in traffic…" Brian began.

"What was it?" asked Allison. Bender looked in the rearview mirror and rolled his eyes.

"Spot the car," Brian answered.

"Oh look!" interrupted Bender. "There's a car, there's a car, there's a car, oh look! Another car! I think there might be a car behind that one! They are EVERYWHERE!" Bender said tensely. "Golly gee, Beev! I think I won! Do I get a gum drop and a kiss now?" Bender punctuated his sarcastic sentence by slapping his palm angrily on the dashboard.

Brian sank back into his seat, embarrassed for even bringing it up. Allison dug into her bag and got out the box of cheerios she stole from the pickup truck. She opened it and took a handful, eating it then passing it on to Andy, who did the same. Once the box was passed around, everyone remained quiet as the stolen Cadillac slowly crept down the road.

"I think a turtle just sped by us," Andy said ironically. Allison leaned her head on his shoulder and fell asleep. Taking her lead, everyone but Bender at the wheel voluntarily fell asleep.

* * *

"You guys! We're out of traffic now! Home we go!" Bender yelled loudly as everyone was startled awake. "I think it's 20 miles to home, right?" he asked. Brian whipped out the map and nodded with an excited 'uh-huh!'

"Guys, I know you're gonna kill me for this…but I think I have to use the bathroom!" Claire said cautiously.

"Can't you wait a freaking half an hour?" asked Bender. Claire shook her head.

"We've been in the car for three hours! Please, just pull over and I'll go in the woods if I have to!" Claire begged. Andy shifted in his seat.

"Truth be told, I have to go to," he said quietly.

"Me too," said Brian. Bender groaned.

"I'm in a car full of dildos! Home's a half hour away, and they need to piss!"

"Just shut it and pull over!" Andy snapped. Bender did so. Claire, Andy, and Brian shot out of the car and made their way deep into the woods (so they wouldn't be seen). Bender turned around to look in the back seat. Allison had not gotten out.

"What about you?" he asked. Allison shook her head.

"I'm fine," she said. Bender nodded and faced forward again.

"That was really clever the way you hotwired this thing. Did you really find yourself bored enough to ask someone to learn how?" he asked.

"Well, when you don't have any friends, you do get bored easily," Allison said. "Besides, a girl always needs to know how to hotwire a car in case…"

"…in case she needs to jam?" finished Bender. Allison's jaw dropped.

"Yeah," she said. Did he overhear when she was talking to Andy and Brian about the shit in her purse and never knowing about when one might need to jam?

"Did you really intend to run away someday?" asked Bender.

"I guess not," said Allison. "It's not like my parents would give a damn. They probably don't even care that I've been gone for three days. I bet I'll walk in that door and they'll have a note on the fridge saying their bailing Joe out of jail for something again, or visiting Randall in Hollywood because he got cast as another extra in some Harrison Ford movie!"

"Better than what I'm gonna get. My dad's gonna assume that I was out partying all weekend and is gonna beat the living shit out of my ass," Bender said.

"You could come stay with me. My parents won't give a crap," Allison said.

"I already got an offer from Claire for that," Bender said.

"Are you gonna take it? Because I think you should," said Allison. Bender looked at the steering wheel. "I think she likes you…and I think you like her back."

"Yeah well—" Bender suddenly stopped speaking when he thought he heard sirens in the distance. Allison heard them too and started hyperventilating. Bender saw a single police car speed right at them. "Shit! RUN!" Bender slammed the door open and bounded out of the car, running into the woods. Allison opened her door but tripped as she tried to climb out, banging her knee hard on the frame. She hollered out in pain. Bender turned around to see her trying desperately to crawl away from the car as the police car slowed down as it approached the stolen car.

Bender did something he only did once before. He thought of someone other than himself. He didn't think for a full second before running back to help Allison to her feet. But by now, it was too late. Bender started pulling Allison up, when he felt himself being shoved down beside her, his arms twisted behind his back. Two tall, black policemen were screaming at them. Bender planted h is forehead on the concrete and didn't move. Allison shook as she stared into the muzzle of a shotgun, pointed right at her.

_"You two are under arrest on charges of auto theft! You have the right to remain silent…"

* * *

_

Andy, Brian, and Claire looked on with horror from behind a bush about 20 feet into the woods as Bender and Allison were shoved to the ground like dogs. Andy bit his lips as one of the two policemen pointed a gun right at Allison. How terrified she must have been! Bender was remaining oddly quiet and calm during the whole brutal process, as both of them were felt up for weapons or drugs, Allison's bag was searched (the officers looked perplexed to find canned pasta and trail mix in her bag), and screaming in both of their ears. Brian looked like he was ready to puke…again. Claire stared at Bender, wondering how the heck he could remain so calm.

Bender and Allison were then handcuffed and stood up as both policemen yelled at them like drill sergeants. Allison was gritting her teeth, trying desperately to fall into her own little world. Bender looked defiant, but NOT defeated.

The pair was then shoved into the single police car, the doors slamming loudly behind them. Andy listened in closely.

"Take them to the station in Edmonston!" ordered the one not driving. "They're gonna rot in jail for 20 years if they're LUCKY!" He then began taking on his radio. "I've located missing car beta, it's located approximately four miles east of recent traffic accident site out of Hillsdale…"

The other policeman laughed and got into the car. Once everyone was in the police car, the sirens began wailing as the car drove off down the opposite side of the road towards Edmonston. Claire, Andy, and Brian hopped out of the bushes when the coast was clear.

"Oh no, this isn't good at all. Remember? Edmonston was 40 miles the OTHER way!" Brian whined. "We can't POSSIBLY walk that far and save them!"

"Maybe they'll get one phone call?" Claire suggested. Andy shook his head.

"Those are for kids accused of gas station robbery or drug dealing on the corner. Auto thieves don't exactly get one phone call each…"

Claire sighed. Andy looked at her. "You KNOW what we have to do!"

She looked at Brian. Brian stared back at her blankly. Claire suddenly got what Andy meant.

"Oh no! Andy, hitchhiking is DANGEROUS!" she whined.

"Claire, our friends are being dragged off to some holding cell nearly 100 miles from any familiar territory. There's bound to be a bank in Edmonston, you can take out bail money and we can get things sorted out once we get back to Shermer," Andy said. "But we can't do ANYTHING unless we get to Edmonston, TONIGHT!"

"It's already close to five," Brian said. The sun was getting lower in the sky.

"I can't risk it!" Claire said, panicked.

"Claire, listen to me. Bender and Allison are the only reasons we've even made it this far! Are we gonna thank them by letting them get 20 to life in a moldy prison?" Andy asserted. Claire bit her lip and looked in the direction of where the police car had driven.

"Hurry up and decide, Claire. I think I hear sirens coming back for the car, we can't let them see us!" said Brian. Andy looked at Claire. Suddenly, Claire took off, running across the highway. Andy and Brian chased after her. Claire suddenly stopped when she'd crossed to the other side and stuck out her thumb. Andy saw why she's shot across the road. A large burgundy-colored van was driving slowly in the direction they wanted to go. The van slowed to a stop, and an elderly woman rolled down the window.

"You need a ride?" she asked.

"Edmonston?" asked Claire.

"Bless my soul, that's where Herb and I are headed with our grandchildren!" the woman pointed to the backseat and beside her, where an elderly man sat with three golden-haired little girls who looked almost identical, except in height.

"Can we get a ride, my…brothers and I?" asked Claire. The lady nodded.

"Jump on in!" she invited. Andy smiled as the trio piled into the van. "Who are you kids?"

"I'm…Jane, and these are my brothers Drew and Ryan," Claire said. She knew giving real names was dangerous no matter who the people were.

"I'm Missy," said the short blonde girl.

"I'm Mindy," said the medium blonde girl.

"I'm Mitzy," said the tall blonde girl.

"I'm Ruth-Anne, and this is Herb!" introduce the woman. Claire didn't care. She just wanted to get to Edmonston before anything really bad happened to Bender and Allison.


	11. Jailhouse Rock

_**A/N: **1.) This is a Bender/Allison friendship chapter…note the long length! ;)_

_2.) I, nor any of my family was ever involved with the American police system, so this is not derived from any real events, and if it seems a little out of whack…well too damn bad because I'm writing it!

* * *

_

"Come on! I was framed!"

"Been there, done that!"

Bender kicked the wall of the holding cell in frustration. Allison sat on the bench watching him pace.

"I demand my one phone call!"

"That's only in the movies, jerk!" spat the policeman sitting at the desk guarding them. Allison had been silently observing her surroundings.

"Stop trying," she finally muttered. Allison was curious. For someone who was always so 'rebellious,' Allison noted that Bender almost looked…afraid. Afraid to be behind bars. Allison felt herself shiver. It was almost summer, and she was so cold. She wanted Andy there with her to put his big, strong arm around her waist and his big, strong shoulder to lean her head on. She had a feeling Bender wanted Claire with him too. For now she just wrapped her arms around herself and leaned her head on the white concrete wall, littered with graffiti-style obscenities of all levels.

Where WERE the others? Allison imagined them coming back to find the two of them in custody, the car wrapped in police tape, police cars everywhere. They were abandoned there on the highway, just like she and Bender were abandoned in the lonely cell.

"Why shouldn't I? We're innocent! Oh wait, hold on—, " Bender kneeled down next to Allison. "—plead insanity!"

"WHAT?!" Allison said out loud. The policeman raised an eyebrow in suspicion.

"It might work," Bender muttered. Allison whispered back into his ear.

"That only works in a courtroom! Besides, if it DID work, it would send me to the Koo-Koo Hut!"

Bender stood again and began pacing. "How long are we gonna be here?"

"In the morning you two will get transferred to a state juvenile prison in Indiana, then you'll get your damn trial," said the officer.

"We're innocent until proven guilty! We have rights!" Allison hissed.

"No you don't. You're still minors…the both of you!" said the officer, putting headphones over his head and leaning back in the chair.

Bender growled. "He can't hear us anymore! Scumbag!"

"Our bail is huge," Allison muttered. "It would take a miracle to get either of us out before morning. We can't go to Indiana!" She said, shaking her head. "My parents are too busy to bail me."

"My dad would just tell them police to hurl me in the clink and throw away the key. We're screwed, Allison. Fucked over. And it's my fault!"

"No, it's not. Neither of us would have been caught if I hadn't tripped. We share equal blame, so no more about that," Allison said. "Maybe we'll get off easy. We're first-time offenders, both of us…"

"Yeah, we'll that ain't gonna do—both of us?" Bender's train of thought was shifted.

"I could see it right away in your eyes. You're just as afraid as I am!" Allison accused.

"How…?" Bender was amazed, embarrassed, and confused all at once. "Fine! I surrender! I, 'Bad Boy' John Bender, have never been arrested before!"

"That actually doesn't surprise me," Allison said. "There's a difference between a rebel and a criminal, John," she said. Bender nodded and licked his lips. "Just like there's a difference between a kook and a recluse," said Allison. Bender gave her a look. "Okay, so I'm both! Bad example…"

"This is bad. Once we see Indiana, we have NO hope left no matter what!"

Allison nodded. "I think this is kind of exciting, actually! It's kind of an adventure. I might go home and write a novel about this, using pseudonyms, of course. What do you want me to call you?"

Bender snorted. Only Allison would find this adventurous! "I dunno…you choose," he decided.

"Hugh Jass?" Allison joked.

"NO!" Bender yelled. "Um….Jack something…"

"Jack Mancuso. Sound manly enough for you?" asked Allison. Bender nodded.

"What are you naming yourself?"

"Maria Robin," she answered. Bender smiled.

"And everyone else?"

"I think I'll call Claire…um…Elsa Buchanan. Brian will be James Romano. And Andy, I'd like to see Andy as Ace Ferrell," Allison said.

"Where do you think they are right now? Coming after us?" asked Bender.

"They technically are our only hope. But there's no way they'll be reaching Edmonston before dawn," Allison said, sighing woefully. "If they're smart, they'll try heading back to Hillsdale to find a phone—"

"—why didn't WE think of using a phone in Hillsdale?" Bender asked, suddenly wanting to slap himself.

"I would have preferred not to. This is much more exciting!" said Allison. "Exciting AND scary!"

Bender smiled at her with his large straight teeth. "Only you!"

"Only me!" Allison chirped. Bender leaned back against the wall and slid down to the floor. "We're not going to get out of here before morning, are we?"

Bender sighed. "Nope, probably not. We're Indiana-bound at dawn," he confirmed. Allison nodded.

"I'm scared," Allison confessed. Bender nodded and bit his tongue.

"So am I, Allison. So am I."

* * *

"This isn't exactly what I'd imagined the place would look like…" Claire mumbled. The Police Precinct in Edmonston was not much bigger than a ranch house. It wasn't a well-kept place either. 

"Wow, Allison's in that awful place? Poor thing!" Andy muttered.

"Claire, you got the money?" asked Brian. Claire nodded. Lucky for her she memorized her bank card's pin number and found an ATM. None of them called their parents, only because then hell would really break loose. They did plan to phone Claire's father once Allison and Bender were bailed out.

"I emptied my saving in case it was set high. Let's just hope bail is not more than 25,000 dollars each…" she muttered.

"You had 50,000 dollars in your savings?" asked Brian, amazed.

"Well, I would have emptied my checking account too, but I still have a few bounced checks to pay for…" Claire muttered. Andy and Brian looked at each other with wide eyes.

"Come on," Andy pleaded. They walked into the precinct and walked up to the front desk. A policewoman was thumbing through some files.

"Hello," said Claire. The woman looked up and peered over the top of her glasses.

"May I help you youngsters?" asked the woman.

"You have two young people here accused of auto theft…John Bender and Allison Reynolds?" asked Claire. The woman nodded.

"Yeah?"

"We have their bail money," said Claire, holding out the wad of bills she took out of the ATM. The policewoman nodded and counted the money, then shook her head.

"This is only 50 grand…don't you want them both?" asked the woman. Claire looked confused.

"Exactly how high is the bail?" asked Brian.

"50 grand EACH!" said the policewoman. "You can take ONE of them with you, but I'd hurry and choose. At dawn they're being transported to Indiana to a state prison," said the woman. Andy gulped. He couldn't imagine how afraid Allison would be in a state prison a whole state away!

Claire opened her mouth, but Andy and Brian pulled her aside. Andy spoke instead, "We need to think this through carefully," said Andy. "We can get one out…and break out the other," he said. Claire looked horrified.

"First we steal a car, NOW we break them out of JAIL?!" she whispered.

"What else can we do?" asked Brian.

"I think we should bail Allison. Then you and I distract the police, and she and Brian can go and break out Bender and we'll meet in the woods and go from there!" Andy reasoned.

"What about calling our parents for more money?" asked Claire. Andy shook his head.

"That'll stir up more trouble," said Andy. "We'll see what we can do later with that. It'll just complicate things," he insisted. Claire was speechless. This was turning out to be quite the crime spree! She was overwhelmed.

"So we're bailing Allison?" asked Brian. Claire nodded and went back up to the counter and slapped the money on the desk in front of the woman.

* * *

"So, have you ever come close?" asked Allison, smirking. A very interesting conversation has stricken up, and as a result Bender had admitted (on accident) that he'd never had sex. The confession truthfully shocked Allison. She felt that if anyone in the entire school was a stud, it was him. And what about the wallet full of girls? 

"Shut up! You've already gotten enough information out of me!" Bender said, laughing through his teeth. It may have seemed a casual conversation to most, but with the coming of midnight, and dawn close behind, Allison would have talked about dog shit and it would've been a great talk…it kept her mind off her impending transport to Indiana with the morning.

"Come on, you've already told me half of it!" Allison egged. Bender rolled his eyes.

"You'd make a great interrogator for the government, you know that? I mean, you could get Pee Wee Herman to admit the 'secret word'!" Bender smiled.

"Yeah, the day I work for the government will be the day that you become president!" Allison said.

"I have come pretty close, once with this New Wave chick named Josie," said Bender. "She was the only real picture in the wallet, the rest were fakes." Allison motioned liked she wanted more detail. "That answers your question!"

"Fair enough," Allison conceded. "But why did you feel the need to fake being a stud?"

Bender looked at the floor. "I'm not saying another word, alright? You already have enough trivia about me to blackmail the shit out of me until kingdom come!" Bender snapped.

"I'd never do that to you. BUT…if you don't tell me, I COULD tell Claire—"

"—Claire who?"

Allison rolled her eyes. "You like her. Admit it. It's not bad to be in love," she said. "I actually might be in love myself," Allison muttered.

"With who?" Bender raised an eyebrow. Allison smirked and buried her face in her hair. Bender understood. "It's Sporto, isn't it?"

"Don't tell!" Allison blushed.

"I won't tell Sporto if YOU won't tell Cherry, got it?" Bender bargained. Allison nodded.

"Deal," she agreed. Suddenly, a police officer (not the one sitting at the desk supervising them in the cell) came in and unlocked the cell. Allison squeaked in nervousness.

"Are we getting transferred already, Barney?" asked Bender. "The donut shop ain't open yet!"

"Shut up, prick!" said the police officer. He pointed at Allison, who squeaked again. "You, come with me, now!" Allison didn't move. The policeman went right into the cell and grabbed Allison's arm, heaving her to her feet.

"Get your hands OFF her, faggot!" Bender yelled. The policeman succeeded in getting Allison outside the holding cell and keeping Bender inside. "Allison!" he called.

Allison looked horrified as she was dragged out with the officer. Bender was alone.

* * *

Andy and Brian paced the lobby while Claire continued thinking of how the hell they could pull their plan off by dawn. It was already midnight. They had to work quickly. 

A policeman appeared in the doorway with Allison. Andy felt his heart drop into his intestines, seeing her afraid and pale. She saw him and immediately shot herself into his arms. Andy put his arms around her shoulder and she began panting heavily.

"I thought I'd never see you again!" she whined. "John's still in there!"

"I know, I'll explain it to you outside," said Andy.

"John's gotta come with us! He'll get transferred!" Allison begged. Andy guided her outside, nodding thanks to the officer. Claire and Brian followed them out onto the sidewalk. "What are we going to do? If he doesn't come with us, I'm not going!" she said. Andy nodded.

"We know you're not. We've got an idea…you know how to hotwire a car, Allison. Can you pick a holding cell lock?"

Allison's mood changed almost comically. She suddenly grinned through her tears of struggle.

"I can do even better!"

* * *

"Police! Help!" Claire yelled from outside. "He's got my purse!" 

Andy ran off down the street with Claire's purse, and then stopped, waiting for the police to come outside. Only one showed up. "Get the entire precinct out here, this man is armed!" Claire pointed at Andy, and he began running again. The police blew a whistle around his neck, and everyone who was on the night shift at the precinct was called outside. Claire even pretended to faint into the arms of two of them. Andy used his racehorse-like strength and speed to his advantage and flew down the street. The police split up and began running after him. Claire looked behind her for a split second and saw Brian and Allison rush back inside.

In the room with the holding cell (now unguarded) Bender leaned against the wall, kicking at the dust and debris on the floor. He looked up when he heard footsteps. He was surprised to find Allison and Brian there.

"Dorktron? Allison? What the—"

"—sh! We don't have much time! Brian, look for a key in case there is one!" Allison bent down and studied the lock for a second. Brian sifted through the desk to no avail. "It's a 1930's Brighton lock. Is this a prison or a playpen?"

"What the hell are you talking about? Don't tell me you were bored one day!"

"You got it!" Allison said. Brian shot up from the desk.

"Allison!" Brian tossed Allison's confiscated bag at her. She smiled and dug around inside. She eventually extracted a stray earring and a tube of toothpaste. She squeezed just a smidgen of the toothpaste inside and stuck the earring in. She fiddled with it a moment, then felt a click. Smiling, Allison pulled open the door with ease. Bender laughed a moment and charged out of the cell.

"You need to get out more," Bender muttered.

Allison nodded. "Come on, let's jam!" The three kids ran out of the precinct and took off into the woods to await the other two members of their gang…

* * *

"So, you were WHAT?" 

"Rehearsing! For a play!" said Claire quickly and nervously. She would need to buy a new diary just to write about today when she got home.

"In the middle of the night in front of the precinct?" asked the police chief.

"Yes, you see, we were the understudies, and the stars got sick and the play opens tomorrow night, we need every second we can get, no matter where we can get it!" Andy lied.

"Do you know how stupid that sounds?" asked another policeman.

"Welcome to my life, this whole week has been a nightmare!" Claire muttered, truthfully.

"Go home and sleep on it, punks. We ain't got time for this!" the chief said. Claire noticed Allison and Brian sneaking away with Bender in tow. She nodded ad Andy, who handed her the purse. They dashed away into the woods, and the police went back inside. Andy and Claire didn't bother to stick around for when they found Bender gone.

They found the other half of The Breakfast Club sitting in a small clearing, waiting.

"They'll be looking around here for you," Brian warned Bender. "We can't stop to sleep. We just need to keep walking AWAY from the precinct."

"Once we get back to Shermer, we probably can sort it out—"

"—how are we getting back? We're now **80 MILES** from Shermer, not to mention on the lam!" Claire whined. "We can't risk being seen in Edmonston again to look for a phone."

"She's right," said Andy. "All we really can do now is wander around until we find a road, follow it, and hope it leads to a town."

"The point is, we're all safe," said Allison. Bender shook his head.

"No, we're not," he said ominously.

"What do you mean?" asked Allison.

Bender never answered her. The group suddenly understood. They slowly began walking deeper into the woods, silent, aware, tired, and desperate.


	12. Lune Reprise

Brian once took an English course on the Action/Adventure novel genre. One of the first things he learned was that every adventure story followed a pattern. One of the most significant parts of the pattern was that after a fast and hard battle, the hero or heroine would go through a phase of temporary defeat, in the old Batman TV series, for example, Batman would always be captured by the villain before making a miraculous escape and saving the day. The way Brian saw it; they were in that moment of defeat…only he wasn't sure that they would be able to escape. They weren't even heading in any direction anymore. They'd found a road, but weren't walking on it…rather, parallel to it in the woods, in case a cop car came whizzing by and spotted them. A storm had come through early morning…quite a violent thunderstorm, too, yet they didn't care, and kept walking. They had no money, no direction, no rides, and no will to go further. They were all tired after 4 days of hard travel. They were nomads. By noon on Tuesday, they lost their minds. They wandered without any sense of whether they were headed for or away from Shermer.

But just as noon came on Tuesday, the group happened to come upon a small town with not much more than a curb, a small motel, and a few scattered houses. Claire sighed as they stood on the edge of the small town. A sign indicated the town's name was "Cooperston."

"We can find a phone here," she said. "I think things are finally turning around." Unlike the arrival in Hillsdale, where they bolted to their sanctuary, everyone literally stumbled into the town. They made their way into the motel, which actually looked pretty nice on the inside unlike the crumbling outside. Andy went up to the concierge, who was a gloomy-looking older man, while everyone else waited outside.

"May we use your phone?" he asked calmly.

"Do you have a room?" asked the concierge.

"Um…no, what does that have to do with—"

"—you need a room to use the phone," said the concierge.

"Sir, we can't afford a room!" Andy protested.

"Use a public phone!" the concierge advised.

"There ARE no public phones here, sir!" Andy protested with every little bit of strength he had.

"Sorry, it's the motel's policy!"

"What are the rates?" asked Andy.

"75 bucks a night a room," said the concierge. Andy angrily pounded his fist on the desk, making the man jump. Andy burst back out onto the street.

"I can't USE the fucking phone unless we get a room…75 bucks a night!" Andy said. Bender took a hat he'd been carrying around and threw it into the street angrily.

"ANOTHER goddamn setback!" he yelled.

"We're never getting home!" Claire began crying. She involuntarily leaned her head on Bender's shoulder and cried. Bender didn't pull away. He let her cry. He wanted to too, actually, but of course he wouldn't.

Andy looked up at Allison. Both of their eyes were red and bloodshot. Andy took one look at the desolate Allison and buried his head in his hand shamefully. Allison got up to get the hat Bender threw. But instead of picking it up, she just stared down at it. She felt something begin to rise up in her throat involuntarily.

_"Lune…Qui là-haut s'allume…Sur les toits de Paris…Vois…Comme un homme…Peut souffrir d'amour…"_ Allison began singing softly.

Andy was the first to look up, followed by everyone else, looking oddly at her. Allison's voice was soft and shaky at first, but grew stronger as the words grew clearer. A man walking by on the curb saw Allison singing there and took something out of his wallet and dropped it in the hat. Bender perked up. That item looked suspiciously like a form of dollar bill…

Suddenly, the group saw what she was getting at. They nodded at each other. Andy was stricken with love and admiration for her. Allison was singing twice as well as she had that night at the reservoir!

_"Bel…Astre solitaire…Qui meurt…Quand revient le jour…Entends…Monter vers toi…La chant de la terre… Entends le cri…D'un homme qui a mal…Pour qui…Un million d'étoiles…Ne valent…Pas les yeux de celle…Qu'il aime…D'un amour mortel…"_

For about ten minutes, the four watched Allison just leaning against a wall, singing. Passersby would throw a dollar bill or a few quarters in as they passed. When the song ended, she would just start again. Way to go, Allison!

The group looked at each other and decided to follow Allison's lead. None of them could sing as well, but regardless, Bender got up, followed by the other four, and began going around doing their own thing. Brian and Claire offered to mow the lawns of some of the houses for a few dollars (nearly all of the homeowners obliged and tipped generously). Andy vacuumed the lobby in the motel for 20 dollars, and then offered to wash the windows. Bender stayed with Allison, making sure no one mistook her for a whore or something and tried to pull shit. No one did.

At dinnertime, everyone regrouped and counted what money they managed to make. Brian and Claire got 35 dollars from lawn mowing. Andy got 25 dollars from the hotel work. Allison, however, won the award for most income, bringing an outstanding 72 dollars and 13 cents! Added together, the grand total was 132 dollars and 13 cents! Not only enough for a room…but for room service dinner and TV, too!

Everyone paraded into the motel, up to the same concierge who'd turned them away at first. Bender proudly slapped down 100 dollars onto the table. The concierge counted the money.

"We'd like a room, TV service, and room service for one night, fogey!" he said. The old man ignored the 'fogey' part and nodded. As irritable as these kids were…this WAS business!

"Indeed, sir."

"Oh, and four bus tickets to Chicago!" said Andy. The concierge nodded and handed them a bus schedule. Andy smiled as everyone gasped in delight. A bus ran through Cooperston!

"Indeed. You don't pay until the bus gets here, sir. The only Chicago bus that runs tomorrow leaves at 8:30, shall I add a wake up call?"

Brian shook his head. "I think we'll be up in time!" Everyone nodded eagerly. The old concierge nodded and handed Bender a room service menu, a remote control for the TV, and a room key labeled '505.' "Third floor," he instructed, pointing away. The group went outside and climbed up the flight of outside stairs and found their room easily, on the top floor. Life was good.

* * *

The room had two large beds, a sofa, a large TV, a phone, a bathroom with soaps and showers, and even a clock-radio. Bender and Andy took a bed, Claire and Allison took the other. Brian happily claimed the couch as his bed (it might have not been a bed, but it was a major improvement after sleeping on the ground for four days, he wasn't about to complain). Once the room (nice and spacey!) was unlocked and settled into, Andy ordered pizza and wings for room service, everyone took a long, luxurious shower, and the TV was turned on, Brian flipped through the channels, trying to find MTV. However, he stopped at a news station for the region. Maybe something about five local teens missing was the top story! Instead, it appeared to be a weather news story, showing heavy damage through what looked to be Shermer. Everyone watched intently. 

"After the super cell thunderstorm that rolled through the Chicago metro area and surrounding suburbs passed late this morning, the entire area is without power indefinitely. Phone lines in Shermer are down as well, and are not expected to be up for a few more days…"

"We wouldn't have been able to call our folks anyway!" Brian declared.

"Now onto one of the stories making local headlines, three Shermer teens are missing after being left behind on a high school field trip. Once the driver of the bus realized they were missing, authorities were called and headed back to the site on Monday morning, only to find the trio, gone. If anyone has ANY information, please contact the Shermer police at 555-1933…"

On the screen, Andy's, Brian's, and Claire's school photos appeared to show the masses who they were talking about.

Allison bit her lip and looked at her feet. Bender rolled his eyes and sank onto the bed. He and Allison were 'absent' from the search! No one was even looking for them! They hadn't even been reported as missing!

Everyone noticed the two of them distressed, Allison more than Bender. Andy saw the sadness in her eyes. Allison eventually got up and left the room, slamming the door violently behind her. Claire and Brian got up, but Andy held up an arm, and they sat back down. Andy got up instead and went after Allison.

* * *

The sun was setting as Andy walked around the deck looking for Allison. He found her on the steps leading to the second floor, crying into her lap. Andy slowly sat beside her. 

"Allison?" he asked softly.

"Bastards didn't even report me missing! I hoped all this time that they were crying over me, and here I am crying over them not giving a damn!" Allison didn't lift her head. "What did I do wrong? Why don't they want me?"

"Allison, you're the victim! They did something wrong, you did nothing! So don't blame yourself!" Andy said.

"I feel horrible. I'm the reason John and I nearly got deported to Indiana, I'm the reason our clothes got stolen, and I'm not even going to be welcomed home! I feel so…disgusting."

"All that may be true, but you're also the reason we didn't starve, and you're why we're in a motel room tonight instead of sleeping in the woods again!"

"Big deal," she said. "You have someone who'll be glad to have you back. Nothing's going to change for me. I'll still be the lonely little girl who lives in the attic," Allison said. She seemed extremely pessimistic, which was never really like her.

Andy nodded and took a deep breath, fully aware of what he was about to say. "If you ever feel like you need someone to love you—I'll be here," Andy said. It felt so good to finally get it out!

Allison looked up at Andy. "Huh?"

"I love you, Allison. I'll be here whenever you need me," he said. Allison felt chills run down her back.

She nodded. "Thank you," she said awkwardly. Andy frowned. Maybe she didn't love him back after all. He patted her back and got up, starting to walk away. Allison wanted to slap herself. She shot up and ran after Andy.

"Andy!" She called. Andy turned around just in time for Allison to grab his neck and lay a kiss on his lips. Not a soft gentle first kiss, but a hard, thrilling, almost sensual kiss. Allison looked at Andy, who was, to say the very least, startled. "I love you too," she said. Andy blushed and smiled.

"When we get back to Shermer tomorrow, you can stay with me until you sort things out with your parents," Andy offered. Allison stepped back, wide eyed. "No! I won't try and do anything to you—"

"—no…it's just…your eyes are shining," Allison said, leaning in for another kiss. This time, it was a softer, gentler kiss. When they separated lips, both of them were blushing madly.

"Wanna go back in? It's getting dark," Andy said.

"Yeah, let's go," Allison agreed. Andy took Allison's hand in his, and they walked slowly along, in no hurry whatsoever to get back to their room.


	13. Cruise Down Memory Lane

Allison was the first one to stir the next morning. So much had gone on last night; she could barely remember what happened. The most she could remember was Bender getting a shitload of beers and everyone (even Claire and Brian) drank until their hearts were content. She rolled over beside her, not to discover Claire, but Andy lying next to her, his arm tucked underneath her neck, his hand on her opposite shoulder. Allison's hands immediately flew to her chest and torso. Covered. Good. A cheap motel 80 miles from home wasn't the place she's always dreamed of to lose her virginity. Well, maybe it was, but the motel at least had to have 50 red candles flickering in the moonlight and a bed that smelled like rose petals.

Allison slowly rolled over on the other side. Claire was on the couch Brian had originally claimed. Brian was the sole occupant of the bed. Bender was passed out in the bathtub (she could see by the open door). Allison hadn't finished her second bottle last night, so she only had a slight headache. She looked slowly and dreamily at the clock on the nightstand. They had to be up by 8:30. Allison blinked twice. It was 8:15! She squealed and shot out of bed like a bottle rocket. She picked up her pillow and hurled it at Andy, making him yelp and shoot up. Allison then grabbed Brian's feet and hurled him onto the floor, making him wake up with a start. Allison grabbed Claire's purse and whacked her with it on the couch, then shoving a couch cushion over her head. Allison, to finish off her 'wake up call' when into the bathroom and turned on the shower to the coldest possible temperature to wake Bender up. When she ran back out into the main room, everyone was getting up, bewildered.

"It's 8:15! We gotta go! The bus is coming!" Allison panicked. Suddenly, everyone knew why she was waking them up so violently. Bender yelled out loud and jumped out of the bathroom, sopping wet.

"What. The. Hell," was his only use of language.

Everyone scrambled to make sure they weren't leaving anything behind (not that they had much TO leave behind). They literally burst out of the room and ran down to the lobby, halting on the last few steps.

Through the window, they saw a police officer talking to the concierge…a different person…a black woman. Andy squinted and saw the bus pull into the parking lot outside the lobby. Shit!

"Fuck it!" Bender exclaimed.

"Sh!" warned Claire. Brian pushed his ear up to the glass to listen in:

"Allison Reynolds and John Bender, they're wanted for grand theft auto," said the officer. "They were broken out by some friends of theirs. Brian nodded to the gang, indicating the officer was part of the manhunt for Bender and Allison. Allison squeaked involuntarily, burying her head in Andy's arms. Andy patted her shoulder in a meager attempt at comfort. He knew they'd be alright. He'd put they're registry under a pseudonym…Richard Vernon and Family.

The concierge thumbed through her notes and shook her head. The policeman nodded and handed two flyers to her. "If you see them, call 911 immediately."

"Yes, sir," she said. The police officer left. And with the police car left the bus. It was 8:32.

"GODDAMNIT!" Bender yelled. The concierge turned around, but saw nothing. She shrugged and got back to work. "Scumbag!"

"Do we have enough to stay another night until tomorrow's bus?" asked Claire. Brian shook his head.

"We have the 20 bucks that we saved for the tickets. That's not close to the 75 bucks we need," he said.

"We could go out and earn more," said Andy. Allison shook her head.

"The police came by, so everyone in town will be looking for us here. Especially those you guys mowed lawns for, Claire and Brian," she said. That was true. "I don't think we should even check out."

"So we move on?" asked Bender. Allison and Brian nodded solemnly.

* * *

They'd only been wandering about 2 hours (it was about 10:30 AM) when the group of five came upon a river about 1/8 of a mile wide. They decided to stop, they might as well. They weren't going too far that day. 

Brian pulled out the map (miraculously not lost) and tried to find the river. He did find it quickly.

"Well, at least we have a direction now," said Brian.

"What do you mean?" asked Claire.

"This is the tributary that runs through Shermer on the west side. If we follow it, we've got a clear shot home," he said.

"Yeah, but how long is it? What are the odds that this is a stick straight river?" Andy asked.

"It's not straight at all. Probably 85 miles or so total," Brian informed. Claire groaned.

"If we had a boat, we could make it by sundown," Andy said. Brian nodded in agreement.

"What are we gonna do, lie John on his back and ride him back to town?" asked Claire. Bender smirked.

"You know YOU want to, Cherry!" Bender winked. Allison frowned and decided to go for a walk by herself. It was amazing how many ups and downs they'd been through the past five days. She needed to take a breath. What would happen if they never got home? Or worse, caught by the police and sent to Indiana? Allison stopped before going too far from the group…she could still see them from a distance.

Oddly, she wasn't so afraid anymore. After stealing a car, being on the run from the police, skinny-dipping in the reservoir, walking, hitchhiking, and singing in the street for money, Allison felt that she could pull through anything, as long as Brian, Claire, Andy, and Bender were with her. They were more like her family than anyone she'd ever known, other than Lucille Anderson, of course.

Allison caught sight of a large boat sailing slowly by. She looked at the older-looking woman driving the boat. The woman caught sight of Allison and seemed to be interested in her. Allison hung her mouth open, although there really was no reason why.

The older woman steered the boat so that she pulled in closer to Allison. "Do I know you?"

"I….don't think so," Allison said.

"You do look familiar. I'll remember later," called the woman. Allison winked. "You look lost. Like you've got nowhere to go. You need a ride anywhere?"

Allison's heart skipped a beat. Bingo.

"I have four other people who need a ride with me to Shermer," Allison mentioned, pointing to the group, who was beginning to notice Allison and the woman on the large boat. The woman looked skeptical a moment.

"Shermer water is too shallow for a boat this size. I can take you as far as Salina," she offered. Allison nodded and waved everyone over. Everyone looked curiously as they ran along the shore to meet Allison.

"She's giving us a ride to Salina!"

"Salina?" Brian said excitedly. "That's less than 5 miles south of Shermer!"

Bender looked at the woman. "Why?"

"She thinks she knows me!" Allison giggled.

"Come on aboard!" said the woman. Allison and Andy looked at each other. The boat wasn't exactly within jumping distance. Andy impulsively jumped into the river and started swimming out to the boat. Everyone laughed and followed, each climbing into the boat.

"Thanks so much, ma'am!" Brian said happily.

"I never get much company anymore ever since Wilbur died," said the woman. "Salina it is! I can getcha there by dinnertime," she said, getting to the wheel and starting the engine. The boat began pulling back into the river. The boat WAS of a decent size. Bender and Brian went to sit in the stern, watching the water rush out from under them. Claire and Andy sat in the bow, watching the horizon. Allison stayed in the middle of the boat where the old woman steered the boat.

"I never thought I could depend on the kindness of strangers," Claire remarked. "I always thought it was just an expression."

"It's so lonely sometimes. I got evicted from my apartment after my pension check was late, so now I live on this boat, sailing up and down the Mississippi and the tributaries, fishing a lot for money, but a lot more just because I feel like it."

"Um…what's you name?" asked Allison. The old woman smiled at her from underneath her large straw hat.

"I think it might have been a photo of you I saw you from," said the woman. "I'm Pauline, by the way."

"Yes, um…Pauline? Why would you have a picture of me?"

Pauline thought for a moment. "My half-sister showed it to me, a long time ago," she answered. Allison double-blinked.

"You half-sister?" she asked.

"Bless her soul, poor dearie! We were like twin sisters, really. My poor Lucille—"

"—Lucille?!?!" Allison almost screamed, making Pauline stumble, in turn, making the boat lurch left. Bender gave an excited whoop. "Anderson?" she finished.

"Well, that was HER last name, mine is Krupke, of course," said Pauline. "She was a nanny, probably yours…THAT'S where the picture came from!"

"I DID have her as a nanny! Oh my god!" Allison felt hot tears well up in her eyes. Her beloved nanny's half-sister!

"Lucille was very proud of you. She loved you like a daughter," Pauline recalled fondly. "Not a night went by when Lucille wouldn't give me a call about something you said or did!"

Allison wanted to cry.

_She loved you like a daughter…

* * *

_

Throughout the day, the boat sailed down the tributary towards home at speeds that would take years for the five students to travel. Allison enjoyed talked with Pauline about Lucille.

"Lucille was the younger one of us. I was fourteen when my mother and stepfather had her. A lot of my friends told me that life was going to be a pain in the neck having a baby half-sister in the house as a teenager, but it was a lie. I loved Lucille from the start. Our mother died when she was four, and her father was a workaholic. Lucille depended on me, and we became best friends. She never liked her father being out of the house and promised to be a nanny so other children wouldn't suffer nearly as much as we did," described Pauline. Allison nodded.

"She was like a mother to me. My parents never gave a damn. They just concentrated on my brothers. I think they never wanted a daughter, so they disowned me. They never even reported me missing," Allison said. Pauline sighed woefully.

"Horrible! A parent who spoils one child and ignores another isn't worthy of BEING a parent at all! Especially a sweet little thing like you, Ally! I'd like to meet those dimwits and show them that who they're choosing to ignore has done so much, that is, if what all you told me you did is true," said Pauline. Allison nodded.

"It's true," she said. Allison paused a moment. "Pauline…what happened to Lucille? One day she just never came home," Allison said. Pauline nodded.

"She had osteo sarcoma. Bone cancer," Pauline said. "She wanted to see you every day while she was in the hospital, but you never came. She lasted three years, Lucille," Pauline swallowed, trying to recall the memory. "She was in remission for 2 of those years. She finally gave up about two winters ago. She was damn strong, but there was nothing she could do anymore." Allison nodded. She had the feeling Lucille was dead.

"It's a really sad ending, but it makes me feel better. It…gives me some closure," Allison said.

"Well said," Pauline nodded. "Lucille would have wanted you to look at it that way. These are your friends, am I to assume?"

Allison nodded. Pauline leaned in. "The tall brown-haired one is a little feisty and strong, isn't he?" she winked. Allison snorted and laughed.

It felt good to laugh.

* * *

By 4:45 PM, Pauline found an empty dock in Salina and pulled up to it. She turned off the engine. "Salina!" she announced. Andy and Claire grinned. "You're welcome! And thank you for the company. I know you teens today don't really care much about 'old people' but I love company every now and then!" she said. Bender nodded in sincere gratitude and hopped onto the dock first. Andy and Claire climbed off next, saying "Thank you, Mrs. Krupke!" in unison as they disembarked. Brian smiled and nodded. Pauline grabbed his hand and placed something in it. 

Pauline leaned next to his ear. "Here's a 20. There's a McDonald's in Salina. Get yourselves some food before heading home, alright? You all look famished!"

"Thank you, Mrs. Krupke!" said Brian, nodding and jumping onto the deck. Allison smiled at Pauline, who put something in her hand as well. Allison saw it was a piece of lined paper.

"It's a list of all the ports I stop in. I'll always be within contact range of one of them…in case you need anything," said Pauline. Allison smiled and reached out her arms to hug Pauline. After a brief embrace, the she climbed off the boat and onto the dock. Pauline began to pull out, but started yelling directions at them.

"Take the main road north out of Salina; it's no more than a mile long! About an hour beyond that, the road forks to merge with a larger road on the left, and keeps a smaller road going right! Take the smaller road for about ½ a mile until you see the Shermer Water Tower! After that, it's straight ahead to the local high school! It's a 2 ½ hour walk at most; you'll be there by 8 PM if you get something to eat first, which you should!" Pauline instructed, waving. Everyone nodded and waved back (even Bender), shouting their thanks and goodbyes. Allison looked down at the paper and smiled, licking a tear that had hit the corner of her mouth.

Andy leaned in to her. "What's that?"

Allison quickly folded up the paper and put it in her purse. "Nothing!" she said quickly. Andy rose an eyebrow. Allison shrugged her shoulders, and Andy let it go.

Bender sighed. "Now, about that food…"


	14. Cop to the Top

Full of deep-fried food and excitement for finally being within an hour's range of home, The Breakfast Club walked quickly and energetically for the first time since arriving in Hillsdale. Salina, like all the other towns they'd stopped in, was not much more than buildings lined along a single road (maybe two). But Salina offered something that Hillsdale, Edmonston, and Cooperston could not…the reassurance that home was just down the road. Not even a nuclear attack would stop the gang now!

Brian, Andy, and Allison took the lead. Claire and Bender walked side-by-side behind them. Andy and Allison were holding hands subtly, silently happy while Brian, for once, chattered away (it could have been the excitement, or the caffeine from the 2 sodas he sucked back at McDonald's). He talked amusingly about how not only could this story get Vernon fired, but it would make a really good novel, or even a TV movie. Brian talked about which actors he would want to play him (among the names: 'that kid on _Nightmare on Elm Street_ who gets eaten by the bed' and 'the guy who was Charlie Bucket in the Willy Wonka movie').

Andy finally chimed in. "John Travolta would play me!"

Allison gave a loud "HA! He's too old!"

"Okay, smart-stuff! Who'd be YOU?" Andy challenged playfully. Allison licked the inside of her cheek and thought a moment.

"Jennifer Beals!" she announced. Brian and Andy laughed now.

"No way! Hey, I saw this movie last year with Matthew Broderick…um War Games!" said Brian. "There was this new girl in it….god, what was her name? Ally Sheedy! I think she'd be a good match for you, wouldn't you say?"

Allison thought a moment. "No fucking way! We look NOTHING alike!" she dismissed the suggestion quickly. Andy shrugged and squeezed her hand a little tighter.

Meanwhile, Bender and Claire were being really quiet. The sun was setting a little slower in the direction facing their backs, so their shadows walked in front of them. They stared at their shadows and walked. Claire spoke up finally.

"You going home when we get back?" she asked. Bender grunted.

"I don't know. It's Wednesday, so Pop will probably be out drinking at McNulty's tonight with my uncles. Ma might be home, but then again she might be at the damn bowling alley, like she almost always is."

"Why the bowling alley?"

"She and her whore friends go to the bowling alley 4 nights a week and complain about their stupid fucked-up lives and how they all should have married doctors, divorced them, then married lawyers," Bender said.

"I just wanna let you know, my offer still stands," Claire said bravely.

"Which one?"

"The one where I said you can stay at my house until you feel ready to go home," she said back.

"Cherry, I tease the hell out of you constantly! Why the fuck do you see the need to 'come to my rescue?'"

"Because I don't care what you say, I think you DO kind of care about not being reported missing," Claire answered.

"No I don't! It means I don't have to come home with you dorks! I could ditch you all here and now if I want to and hitch a ride out west!" Bender said defensively. Claire smiled.

"Then what's stopping you? You could leave now, we know the way!" Claire said. "Do you…CARE about us a little bit? Going soft on us, John?" Claire egged. Bender groaned.

"I ain't saying anything! My stash is at home!" Bender reasoned.

"Whatever you say," Claire groaned, surrendering. She began speeding up to walk ahead of Bender. Bender caught up to her.

"Why don't YOU come stay with ME?" he asked. Claire raised an eyebrow.

"WHAT?"

"You heard me!"

Claire smirked mischievously. "But my house has hors d'oeuvres!" she whined. Bender grinned.

"You cherry!" he teased. "I might stay for one night, but only because my house is probably locked up," he said.

Claire giggled. "Yeah, THAT'S why you're staying with me!"

"Oh, you're dead!" Bender said. Claire started running, Bender chasing after her devilishly. Claire began laughing and yelling as she and Bender ran ahead of the other three. Brian and Allison ran after them, Andy falling just a bit behind because his knee felt a bit tender.

After a little while, Brian pointed up ahead of the gang. The road up ahead became two roads. The one on the left visibly merged with the highway. The right road spiraled off into the woods.

"Look! The forked road! Home is ½ a mile from here!" Brian said happily. He proudly pulled out the map and crumbled it into a ball, tossing it behind him. Everyone stopped to admire the sight. Andy and Allison twirled around and hugged. Brian high-fived Claire. Claire then winked at Bender, who gave her a tender smile. Claire flashed her own award-winning smile back. Bender approached her.

"Looks like our luck is finally turning around!"

Claire looked into his eyes. "Yeah…" she muttered dreamily. They began to lean in, almost within kissing range, when a sound, followed by a light, caught Bender's senses, and he froze. Allison and Andy froze next once analyzing the sounds and lights. Brian and Claire were the last to realize that there was a police car closing in on them.

"Run for it!" Bender yelled. Everyone took off as three policemen emerged from the car and gave chase. "Try and get to the water tower!" he instructed. Everyone sped off into the woods. Allison and Andy headed straight down the road. Brian and Bender leapt into the woods. Claire went into the woods too, but not as deep within as Brian and Bender. Each of the three policemen chased after a group.

They each promised themselves mentally that they wouldn't let themselves be dragged back again after coming this far.

Not now, they just couldn't let themselves lose the battle now.

* * *

Allison and Andy knew the path led straight to the water tower, yet it took forever to run that ½ mile with the tall, buff policeman chasing them. Andy eventually tripped. Allison wasn't aware, and ran on around a corner, out of sight. The policeman finally got a hold of Andy. Andy tried every escape move he could to get away, but the policeman was too strong even for him. Still, Andy struggled. 

Allison soon realized Andy wasn't running next to her anymore. She bit her lip and looked around. She could see Andy struggling with the policeman through the trees. She immediately saw a formidably-sized rock and picked it up. She then cut through the woods with the rock on her shoulder so she'd reappear behind them. The policeman was about to handcuff Andy's hands together when Allison emerged from the woods, unseen. She started running at the policeman and took aim as she ran. She heaved the 10-pound rock at the policeman and stumbled in the follow-through, falling on her side.

The rock was dead-on, and hit the policeman at the crown of the head, knocking him out before even hitting the ground. Andy, realizing he'd been saved, got up, dusted himself off, and saw Allison on her side. He quickly went to get her to her feet.

"I think I pulled a muscle!" she moaned, cradling her wounded right arm in her left arm. Andy gave her a kiss of thanks on the forehead and grabbed her non-aching hand.

"We need to find everyone else!" he said, dragging Allison into the woods. "You have a great arm, by the way. Have you every considered joining the girls' softball team?"

* * *

Brian had lost touch with Bender and was now wandering by himself. A shorter policeman was chasing him, but Brian knew he wasn't a fast runner, so instead he used his wit to hide himself from the policeman. The policeman wasn't running either, he was cautiously waiting for the slightest noise that would give Brian away. Brian had climbed into a tree. He didn't know what he could do from there, but it was better than running on the ground and making noise. 

The policeman appeared and stopped right below where Brian was hiding in the tree. Brian held his breath. What could he do? He could wait for the policeman to pass then run the other way…but he could turn right around and run after him! Brian COULD knock him out…but that would come with dire long-term consequences.

Brian impulsively shifted his weight enough so he could drop his leg. The best way to knock someone out from above was to kick them in the bridge of their nose with enough strength. Brian took a breath and cocked his leg back. The policeman was still standing there, oblivious. Brian then gained enough courage to let his leg swing. His foot hit the policeman right in the nose, sending him falling backwards.

He wasn't out. Brian jumped down from the tree and kicked him up from under the nose. That blow managed to do him in. Brian the tried to find his way back to the road.

He found Claire and Bender fighting with the last policeman. They seemed to be having better luck with the 2-on-1 ratio. The policeman seemed a bit battered up already. Brian rushed over to help with the battle.

The policeman suddenly tripped Bender and twisted his arm behind his back. Bender hollered. Brian tried to get to them, but a barrier of twigs blocked his way, and he went to find a way around.

Claire panicked as Bender was taken down. She quickly took off her heeled shoe and hobbled over to the policeman and took a batter's swing right at his eye. The heel hit his right pupil, making scream in agony and letting Bender go. Bender then managed to get to his feet and finish the job with a kick to the groin and another blow to the back of the head.

Brian, followed closely by Andy and Allison, found Bender and Claire victorious. They quickly moved back out to the road from the woods.

They looked right in front of them.

It was a glorious sight.

Everyone smiled. Claire, Allison, and Brian felt tears come to their eyes. Bender smiled genuinely. Andy felt his throbbing knee pain cease instantly.

There, 20 feet in front of them, emerging straight up into the black night air, glowing like a blue glow-stick in the night, was the Shermer Water Tower (clearly marked on the side).

"Guys," said Brian breathlessly. "Welcome home!"


	15. Home Again?

Being on a familiar street almost changed how each of the five members of the group looked. A certain individual part of each of them changed as the walked deeper into Shermer. Brian, for example, has a posture change. He walked more tall and his pace was quicker. Claire's blue eyes seemed to twinkle a bit brighter as she looked around and recognized the scenery. When Andy smiled, his dimples seemed to get deeper as he grinned wider. Allison's body was a bit looser and she walked more casually, almost with a skip in her step. Bender's change was much more obvious. He was sincerely smiling. Period.

From the direction they were coming into town, Claire's house was closest. The wealthier and upper-middle-class homes were closest to the water tower and the edge of town. The cheaper apartments and lower-class houses were more towards the center of Shermer, where Bender and Allison lived. Andy's home was only a street away from Claire's. Brian lived somewhere in the middle, close to the shopping roads with the grocery stores and mini-marts.

The group started heading to Claire's house, where they planned to separate. A telephone pole in front of them as they waited to cross a road was plastered with 'Missing Banners' for Andy, Claire, and Brian. Again, a reminder that Bender and Allison had not been reported missing, nor were they being missed. Allison gripped Andy's hand a little tighter. Bender hocked a loogie on the ground in front of the pole. The other three felt sorry for them. They really did have a better chance out there, on the boat with Pauline Krupke, who probably knew more about them after 1 afternoon than their own parents knew altogether.

Claire twitched her lip and smiled. "Let's all go to my house for tonight!"

"What?" asked Brian.

"I think that we should spend a night together, and then settle back in. It has been a stressful week and my house is only a few blocks away," she said.

"It isn't fair to our parents," said Andy.

"But I don't think John and Allison should go home to an empty or uncaring house after all that, especially at night," said Claire. Allison nodded and looked at Andy.

Andy thought a moment. "Let Brian and me run home and check in with our parents. Bender and Allison can go with you, Claire and call their houses. Brian and I will come back in two hours," he bargained. Everyone nodded in a silent approval. Allison let go of Andy's hand and he and Brian ran off down the block. Allison and Bender crossed the street with Claire, heading to her house.

* * *

Claire's room was like a house unto itself in the huge 3-story house she lived in with her parents. She had the entire top floor to herself. The room must have been as big as the entire top floor of the motel in Cooperston, and it came with a bathroom, a walk-in closet, and a small activities room with a pool table and ping-pong table. Allison was exploring the room with interest. Bender was sampling the array of 50-or-so bottles of scents on the vanity table while listening to the vent as it echoed what was going on downstairs. Claire was having a "reunion" with her parents, and it sounded like a very mushy one at that… 

"Oh Princess! We missed you so much!"

"We're suing the school for mistreatment and absentmindedness in the caretaking of the students! We've contacted a lawyer!"

"The IMPORTANT thing, Henry, is that she's HOME!"

"Is there absolutely ANYTHING I—"

"—OR I!"

"Can do for you?"

"Well…do we have any snacks? My friends have nowhere to go for the night…"

"You just go on up to your room, honey, and we'll fix up a few things for you and your little friends!"

"Little!" scoffed Bender, sniffing a bottle that smelled like chemically-altered mangoes. "I'm bigger than Henry Standish in every aspect!"

"John, have you told Claire yet?"

"'Bout what?" asked Bender, putting down the mango bottle and studying himself in the mirror. It looked like in the past week, he'd lost a little muscle mass…

"About you liking her?" Allison took out one of Claire's evening dresses and pressed it against her body. Claire was such a skeleton compared to her! Allison would have to slice her torso in half to try and fit into the dress!

"Here we go again!" Bender smiled. Allison smirked and, for once, left it at that. Claire's footsteps could be heard coming up the steps. Allison smiled and shoved the dress in the closet as she came up and into the room.

"It feels nice to be home," she muttered. "Snacks are on the way."

"Yippee skippee!" Bender said without emotion. Allison smirked and shook her head to herself.

* * *

Andy and Brian came over exactly 2 hours later, as promised. Brian told everyone about how he needed to use his inhaler after her mom finally let him out of her arms. Andy said his dad started barking at him about missing a lot of training sessions, and Andy just told him to shut up, he was tired. And he did. Allison was proud of Andy. 

Donna Standish brought up a huge silver tray with various cold cut sandwiches and another smaller tray with mini quiches of various kinds. Everyone dug in and sat down to eat. Andy and Allison sat on Claire's bed. Claire sat on her vanity table. Brian and Bender took the floor.

"Talk about an adventure!" said Andy.

"Brian, are you starting that letter?" asked Claire. Brian nodded.

"It'll be at least ten pages with just the rough ideas I have in my head! Vernon's going to have a hard time explaining some of this to the Board of Education!"

"I'm just glad my gut's full," Bender said with a mouth full of quiche. "If this is anything like sushi—"

"—it's not," Claire said. "Quiche is a pie filled with egg, onion, and possibly spinach, mushroom, or bacon."

Bender felt like spitting the stuff into his hand. But the taste was still great, so he swallowed and passed the rest of the quiche to Brian.

A popping sound from nearby sent Claire to her feet. "Oh great, the heating system is crashing again. I used to know how to fix it—"

"—I'll help," Bender shot up and offered.

"Oh no! Bender's offering to HELP Claire? It's a sign of the Apocalypse! Everyone to the bunker! RUN!" Andy shouted teasingly. Allison put a hand on his shoulder to calm him down. Andy looked at her oddly. Did she know something?

"Fuck you," Bender said half-heartedly, following Claire into the next room over. The room didn't have a heating system in it. Bender looked confused.

"Where's the system?" he asked. Claire shook her head.

"The sound is when the water heater activates. It's no problem," Claire said.

"Then what the—"

Bender never finished his sentence. Claire had leaned up and smashed her lips against his. Bender barely had time to react when Claire pulled away again, her cheeks pure fuchsia.

"Why'd you do that?" he asked. Claire looked at her feet.

"I knew you wouldn't," she said. Bender nodded, amazed. She had strong lips. He felt like his thighs were going up in flames. "What you said back in the woods….are really only staying here because you're parents aren't home?"

Bender shook his head. Claire smirked and leaned in for another kiss. This time Bender wrapped his arms around her delicate waist as they kissed. The moment was simple, yet it said so much. Claire was overwhelmed, and Bender was embarrassed. He never imagined a girl coming on to him, and him being left all but speechless.

"Let's go back out there," Claire said, entwining her fingers discreetly with his. He tried to look like her soft skin didn't send a wave of chills through his spine. He felt like he was doing a crappy job.

Claire and Bender re-emerged into the bedroom after only a few minutes. Allison was the only one who notice they'd held hands upon entering the room, then how they let them go quickly upon entering the room. Allison nodded at Bender. His averted his eyes from her.

Knowing him, that was a good sign. Allison sighed and rested her head on Andy's shoulder. Andy wrapped his arm around her. All was right with the world at last.

As soon as the thought left her mind, Brian started hearing sirens. Allison noticed them next, and ran to the window. Two police cars were pulling into the Standish driveway.

"They're back!" she yelped. Brian began shaking. Claire stood up and went to the door.

"Where the hell do you think you're going?" asked Bender, gripping her arm.

"I have to go down with my parents!" she said, looking into his worried eyes. Was he…scared? "I think we can bribe them off, but it means I have to show my face. NONE of you must follow me!" Claire left the room and closed the door. Everyone instantly rushed to the vents where they could hear downstairs. No one breathed. When Brian let out a subtle belch, Bender socked him in the arm.

"May I help you, officer?" asked Donna Standish.

"I have five arrest warrants, and they are inside your home," said a masculine police officer's voice.

"What? That's absurd!"

"Mom, it's not as absurd as you—"

"—she is one of them!"

"Mom, how much money is in my trust fund?"

Bender widened his eyes. Trust fund? Wow, he sure knew how to pick them!

"Officer, can we convince you and the accuser to drop all five charges?" asked Donna. Allison's lower lip trembled. Andy ran a finger over her bottom lip tenderly and silently told her that it would be alright. Brian took deep, quick breaths. Bender rolled his eyes and stared at Brian.

"Dork. Now's not the time to practice your Lamaze breathing, alright?" Brian immediately shut up.

"Ma'am, I'm afraid there are too many charges against the five of them to consider that."

"But sir, I am Donna Standish! My brother is the sherriff!"

Bender widened his eyes. He certainly wasn't expecting a card like THAT to be played!

"You brother is Sherriff Joseph Magill? He's done great work for out unit!"

"He'd have them aquitted anyhow, so how about we just pay you and the man pressing the theft charge and we can drop this whole matter? It will get dropped eventually anyway, so why waste the energy by dragging them uptown?"

"Mom, the term is downtown."

"It doesn't matter, there are no real hills in Chicago so the whole town is flat in our case anyways."

"Ma'am, these five kids are charged with theft, battery and assault, not to mention breaking out of a state prison!"

"State prison!" Andy scoffed.

"That cell was no more than a playpen with a ceiling!" Allison said breathlessly.

"Sir, when you consider that you're wasting enegry right now. Remember, the head of your unit is my brother, Jospeh Magill..."

"Indeed, Jospeh Magill. I do have the man with me. One moment, and we'll negotiate." Then, what seemed like an eternity went by. Not one sound was uttered in the attic. Brian was blue. Allison and Andy were almost conjoined together like Siamese twins. Bender's ear was fixed to the vent. His hands were barely visibly shaking.

"The accuser will agree to drop the charges for 100,000 dollars."

Brian wanted to faint. 100,000 dollars?!

"Claire, dearest, we can pay that off. Go get my bank card so I can get the pin number off it."

Another moment of silence went by.

"Here's 100,000 dollars, officer, and another 5,000 if you can erase the criminal records."

"Thank you, ma'am. We're sorry for the inconvenience."

Allison and Andy suddenly sank to the floor, laughing hysterically, and relieved. They were safe. It was impossible to believe: five minors had just gotten away with battry, theft, assault, and other various crimes with just a swipe of a credit card (Bender wouldn't admit it...but sometimes richies had their advantages). Brian felt a tear leave his eye, and he turned to the wall. Bender was emotionless. He couldn't believe Claire's mom could easily give someone 105,000 dollars! Maybe he could make a few Gs just by taking Claire to a drug pusher's corner!

The police cars quickly pulled out of the driveway and headed back to the Edmonston precinct. Claire re-appeared in the doorway, glowing.

"Mom says we need to get some sleep. We have to go back to school tomorrow!" she said. Andy and Brian groaned.

But it was a groan of joy (if there was such a thing). They were home. Home and safe at last.

* * *

_**A/N: **Epilogue chapter coming soon! _


	16. Epilogue: School Daze

On Thursday morning, after Andy and Brian going back home to check in again with the parents, all five members of The Breakfast Club unwillingly went to school.

Even before entering the building, they were well aware of their newfound popularity. On a newspaper rack placed outside the school, the newspaper headline read in bold letters "**5 MISSING SHERMER TEENS FOUND: TWO UNREPORTED!**" It was true; it had been a hard time getting to school because several reporters were on the Standish front lawn waiting for a first word from the "Lost Five of Shermer" as they were being called. It was embarrassing for everyone, so they'd snuck out through the backyard onto the street behind the house and gone around.

As Bender had remarked: "Damn, Shermer must be fresh out of news if five lost losers are making headlines."

They'd sneaked to Bender's house and gotten his beat up junk bucket of an automobile so they wouldn't have to walk. It felt weird taking a car. Everyone felt a tingling in their legs as they rode…almost like their legs would rather walk than ride. No one looked like they'd wanted to go.

Once inside the school, the group wasn't bombarded, but they could tell people were whispering about them. They all realized that they didn't have any classes with any of each other until after lunch. And only then did Brian and Claire share Human Anatomy class. This was going to be weird. REALLY weird. After being together and relying on each other for a solid week, separating and going about their normal routines would be all BUT normal.

Brian was the first to leave for science by himself (he always liked being in class early). Then Bender and Claire headed down the hall, while Allison and Andy headed upstairs. Claire and Bender, who still felt a little awkward with each other, shared a few brief words.

"Well, see you in lunch," said Claire.

"If I don't get stuck in Dick's office for trying to steal someone's lunch again," Bender said. Claire rolled her eyes.

"John, you were in jail and almost deported. I think Vernon's office isn't so bad anymore," she said.

"Damn straight," he said. They looked at each other. They just…stared. Claire then hopped up on the toes and quickly kissed him goodbye, then turned her back and breezed down the hall. Bender shuddered. After the week he'd just endured, he still hadn't grown any balls in the department of romantic relationships. One step at a time.

Meanwhile, Andy and Allison struggled to separate from each other. They stood outside Allison's psychology classroom.

"It's gonna be weird going through a day without hiding from a police car or fighting for food," remarked Allison.

"I have to make an appointment with my doctor for tomorrow. My knee's pretty banged up from it all. I might need surgery to repair a few tendons," he said. Allison caressed his knee with the tips of her fingers.

"I have a lot to tell my shrink this week," she remarked. "I see him tomorrow at his place on Briar Street."

"My orthopedist's office is on Briar Street!" remarked Andy. "After my appointment, how's about I pick you up from yours, and we'll go stargazing like I promised," he offered. "The forecast says it'll be a clear night. We can get takeout and lie in the park head to head."

Allison grinned her crooked smile. "I'd love that," she said. The 5-minute warning bell rang, and Allison squeaked in surprise. Andy gave her a long, innocent kiss before she went inside. Andy slowly limped down the hall towards his math room.

* * *

Andy sat in his 3rd block Global History class rubbing his knee, which was throbbing pretty badly. Three blonde girls with giggly voices kept staring back at him. Andy rolled his eyes. He wanted more than ever to have Allison sitting beside him. 

After a moment, the school secretary, a pudgy older woman, called the teacher into the hallway. Andy sat back and sighed. The blonde girls turned back to speak to him. The skinniest blonde spoke first.

"Um, Andy? Is it true you rode along with a traveling circus to get home?"

"Shut up, Summer! Is it true you had to sell crack to pay for a bus ticket, and then lost the ticket?"  
"Oh HONESTLY, Andrea! I just wanna know, did you seriously get directions home from a prostitute in exchange for letting her out of prison?"

"No. None of that happened."

"What about the story where you got that mental girl pregnant while hiding under a bush from the SWAT team?"

"Oo! Can I be the godmother?"

Andy quickly drowned out the three girls' blubbering about the crazy rumors they'd heard after that. It was getting ridiculous and fast. Honestly, he'd heard even more extravagant rumors than those three! The most random one had to be the rumor about him meeting President Reagan on the road and stealing his wallet for food money.

"Andrew Clark?" asked the teacher, reappearing with the secretary. "You're wanted in Mr. Vernon's office," he said. Andy shook his head and regretfully stood up. What the hell did Vernon want?

Andy begrudgingly dragged himself down to Vernon's office. Claire, Bender, and Brian were all sitting there, not looking happy. Allison wasn't around.

"I assume you all know why you're here," Vernon said sternly. Everyone looked clueless. That was because everyone WAS clueless. "You're all guilty of skipping classes on Tuesday AND Wednesday this week!"

"WHAT?" asked Brian rather loudly.

"Dick, it's about two months to late for April fools," Bender groaned.

"I'm serious as shit," Vernon said.

"Doesn't say much, does it?" Bender snapped back.

"Sir, we were LEFT BEHIND on the bus trip last Friday and had no choice but to walk 60 miles home!" Claire whined.

"Nonetheless, I am assigning you all detention until the end of the year for your insolence!"

"Sir, if you just watch the news, you'll see we didn't SKIP!" Andy protested.

"Skipping is defined in the student handbook as not coming to school without a medical note or parental consent. That is what you did!" Vernon said, pacing the room authoritively.

"WE WERE BANISHED IN THE MIDDLE OF A MIDWESTERN WASTELAND!" Andy nearly yelled.

"Shut up, Clark! You'll only make it worse for you!"

"You know what? I don't need this! Fuck off, Dick!" Bender stood, grabbed his knapsack, and left the room.

"Get back here!" Vernon warned. Claire and Brian got up and followed Bender down the hall. Andy struggled to his feet (his damn knee!) and followed. Vernon angrily followed the group throughout the hall. "I'll have you sitting in detention during the summer if I have to!"

The group quickened its pace. Where was Bender leading them?

They reached the front of the building and went outside. Bender looked over at the black Chevy in Vernon's marked parking space. The door was open, and a very familiar pair of Chuck Taylors was sticking out of the window. Bender led Brian, Claire, and Andy to the car. Vernon had not yet caught up with them. Andy laughed out loud when he saw Bender tap the sneaker. The Chevy's engine revved up as Allison stuck her head out of the car.

"All aboard!" Allison said, smiling. Bender grinned. Everyone looked at each other and smiled. Andy got in beside Allison, the other three piled in the back as Vernon finally emerged from the school.

"HEY! THAT'S MY DAMN CAR!" he yelled. Allison stepped on the gas and pulled out of the parking space, doing a few laps in Vernon's car around the parking lot.

"Where are we going?" asked Brian. "Won't we get in trouble?"

"I hope so!" Bender said, amused.

"Where are we headed?" asked Andy.

"I don't know!" Allison said. "That's the best part!"

Vernon looking on helplessly, the car pulled out of the Shermer High School parking lot and drove west on the road and out of sight.

* * *

_**Author's Thanks:** I know the ending was crappy and unrealistic, but i didn't want a typical boring ending. To everyone for their wicked awesome reviews! I'm debating over what idea to use for my next chapter fic (I have a few small plot bunnies in my head that are semi-developed as of now). Look for whatever fic I have up next! Drop me a final word on what you think, and I hope you enjoyed this and liked the really cheese-o-licious ending! Oh yeah, and I need to thank my BF, Kyle, for his idea for the whole jail and police chase subplot. I was planning to have them meet up with a traveling carnival and have them work their way to Shermer, but then have them find out they'd been traveling the wrong way, then have them stowaway in an RV headed to Wisconsin, and from there have them have a few more misadventures, but then it got a little farfetched and I almost dumped the whole thing, Kyle gave me the police chase plot and it worked out really well, so thanks, bay-bay! wink I hope everyone liked this! _


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